Affinity
by DisneyOTPFanatic
Summary: "Perhaps it was the perilous circumstances that had brought them all together that had caused her to feel this way. If so, why didn't she feel this way towards anyone else who had been a part of this godforsaken voyage?" The story of Treasure Planet, delving deeper into the thoughts of those aboard the RLS Legacy.
1. Chapter 1: Beginning

They had only known each other for a few months, and yet the last thing she'd wanted to do was hurt him. She felt emotionally connected to him, even more than she had felt even towards Arrow. Perhaps it was the perilous circumstances that had brought them all together that had caused her to feel this way. But it hadn't been only she and him on this godforsaken voyage; Mr. Hawkins had been in the midst as well. In fact, Mr. Hawkins had been at the dead center of it all.

So why did she not feel this emotion towards James as well? It only made sense. He had been the one in the most danger, the one who had felt the utter betrayal that Mr. Silver had inflicted, and the one she had wrongly accused of negligent murder. And yet as the most exciting voyage she had ever embarked on came to a close, she felt no affection towards the boy, beyond the pride in his accomplishments that a professor might feel towards a pupil of theirs.

Yes, it was completely illogical. The man she felt the most strongly towards was not the one who had risked his life the most, not the one who had shown immense amounts of bravery in the face of adversity… No, this man had been the one who stumbled and fumbled his way through the journey, and had infuriated her to no end...until the moment where all seemed lost, when he stepped forward and became a vital key to her survival.

I suppose I have gotten ahead of myself. This story is more easily comprehended, and her conflicting emotions are more easily understood...when told from the beginning.

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It seemed that pushing off their unwanted voyages down to her… was the latest method of driving Captain Amelia to her breaking point that the Royal Navy had decided to use. Voyages usually assigned to officers beneath her rank were happily passed onto her, under the guise of being "morale building exercises".

But Captain Amelia knew what they were doing. She had been in this business long enough to know when her superiors were purposely bothering her. Being an upstanding captain who came from nothing was already a strike against her amongst her colleagues, seeing as most of them had basically been drafted into the Navy due to their families' well-established reputation in such circles.

Add on the fact that she was female, well respected by her crew, and very good at her job… Yes, her colleagues had good reason to be intimidated by her. And as a result, they tended to attempt to "put her in her place" with mundane voyages that any captain with a ship and an inkling of common sense could embark on.

Their attempts at dampening her drive were futile, as expected, since she treated each voyage as if they held the utmost importance... because she knew that to the one who had requested said trip, it did. This caused her to be seen as the most valuable captain in the Navy, with new requests for her services flooding in each day, which more than deliciously infuriated those above her in rank.

The day began like any other. Meetings in the early morning. A debriefing on the peace talks across the galaxy, a rundown of the latest news from the Admiralty, then off to her office to go through aforementioned voyage requests with her First Officer.

This is where she sat now, leaned back in her chair in her office on Montressor, sipping a cup of almost gone tea, chuckling to herself as Mr. Chester Arrow read through the various requests they'd received.

"Captain, I am not sure what lunatic walked in and handed some of these in, but I know they couldn't possibly have imagined we would accept their request." he sighed, his stony features crinkling into an image of mock-disgust before melting into a large grin.

Amelia chuckled, setting her cup down and sitting forward, taking the folder he was handing her and opening it. She ran her eyes over the summary, and couldn't help but smile as she closed it and set it off to the side.

"Perhaps they feel we have nothing better to do."

"It's almost insulting." Arrow muttered, grabbing another folder. "Like this one. 'Mr. Drake Corolla kindly requests safe passage for both he and his 37,000 ceramic ducks to his mother-in-law's house on Denobai'."

Amelia could only laugh at the irritated look on her best friend and First Officer's face, strategically pulling out a different folder from the bottom of the stack.

"Perhaps this Mr. Corolla really fancies his ducks. _Safe_ passage for his precious cargo, my friend." she smirked.

She truly did enjoy the fact that she got to begin each day with her First Officer. It was always a very welcome reprieve from the haughty men she usually worked with, and she could always be herself in his presence. Arrow had known her since their Academy days, and knew the stress she tended to put herself under. And more recently, he knew the stress she was constantly put under by others, and made it his priority to keep her at ease whenever he could.

He gave her a smirk, rolling his eyes as he downed the rest of his own tea. Amelia smiled, turning her attention to the folder in her hands and opening it. Arrow watched her, his eyebrow raising when she went completely still and silent.

"Captain?"

Amelia blinked, shaking herself momentarily. She glanced up at him, her brow knitted in confusion. A bemused smile tugged at the corners of her lips, her eyes sparkling with barely contained laughter. She slowly closed the folder, placing it calmly on her desk as a small hum escaped her.

"It would seem that Captain Nathaniel Flint himself has commissioned us for a voyage, my friend."

Arrow picked up the folder, his brows knitted in confusion and mild concern for his captain's mental state.

"Flint? He has been dead for a decade." he stopped, reading over the contents of the folder. "... Treasure Planet?"

"Aye, it would seem that the ghost of Captain Flint has inhabited some poor fellow, and has forgotten the exact location of his treasure. He would like us to assist him in finding it."

When Arrow looked up from the paperwork, he was thoroughly surprised to find his best friend staring back at him, her cheeks turning red as she held back her laughter. A smile slowly made its way over his lips as he spoke, coughing around a chuckle.

"So, um...shall we discuss this obviously lucrative voyage?"

There was silence for a moment, the two of them staring at each other... until neither of them could contain themselves and fell into fits of laughter, leaving them both in tears. Amelia chuckled as she regained her composure, using her hand to push back a few strands of her auburn tresses that had come loose as she put the opened folder on her desk and leafed through the contents again.

"Now, in all seriousness…" she sighed. "This… Doctor Delbert Doppler fellow seems awfully convinced that this map he has found is legitimate."

"Besides the fact that his parents were obviously fans of alliteration…" this illicited a chuckle from Amelia. "I find it a bit hard to believe that a… what is he? An astrophysicist? Yes. Hard to believe a man like that would simply stumble upon something as rare as a map to the Loot of a Thousand Worlds." Arrow said, crossing his arms as he leaned back slightly in his own chair. "Especially considering how many spacers have been searching for said map."

Amelia couldn't help but agree with him. She respected the profession of astrophysics, but even she knew that those in such profession were not ones to hop on a ship to hunt for treasure. And that was why she found it so absolutely unbelievable that this obscure professor, who she had only seen in the newspaper once, had been able to find a legitimate map to the most sought-after treasure since the beginning of time. Perhaps that was why those above her in rank had passed this particular voyage down to her. It seemed more like the product of a child's imagination rather than a request for her services.

On a different note, she'd interacted with enough astrophysicists to know she was not necessarily a fan of spending weeks with them in space. They tended to be bothersome know-it-alls who didn't realize they didn't know every single thing about the Etherium.

But traveling to the farthest reaches of the Etherium would be a nice change from the mundane cargo runs Amelia had been subjected to. Even the entire voyage was almost guaranteed to be fruitless.

"Perhaps we should accept," she said, smirking at the surprised look on Arrow's face.

"Accept? Captain, as your oldest friend and First Officer, I must urge you to reconsider."

"Arrow, I must say I am appalled." Amelia raised an eyebrow in an expression of mock-surprise. "The great Chester Arrow running from a voyage? What happened to the juvenile delinquent I met at the Academy? "

"I am not running, Amelia, and you are one to call someone a delinquent, Officer Detention. You practically had an assigned seat in the headmaster's office." Arrow sighed, referring to her rather exciting first year at the Naval Academy.

"Oh, don't go there, Arrow. I shaped up." Amelia scoffed, mildly offended.

He reached forward, tapping his finger on the paperwork in front of her. "Amelia, I am simply urging you to think this through. A voyage to uncharted areas of the Etherium, with a map that probably leads to nowhere, financed by a man who has barely any spacing experience… All I'm saying is that it seems like something we should take our time discussing before we come to a conclusion."

Amelia thought a moment and realized he had a point. As satisfying as it would be to be able to lay claim to embarking on a "Treasure Planet voyage", they would be running the risk of finding absolutely nothing. That would not only be embarrassing but would only give her superiors a type of evidence that she was less of a spacer than they were. But the possibility that this map could be legitimate… The financier seemed convinced of the fact. Astrophysicists only became such after many years of studying star charts and the Etherium, he couldn't possibly be so daft as the think an obviously fake map was real. So perhaps he was right, and with that, there was the possibility of the adventure of a lifetime...

"Well, we cannot wait too long." Amelia sighed decisively, standing from her desk suddenly and placed her hat on her head. "This financier seems very anxious to get underway."

Arrow watched her for a moment, already knowing that she had come to a decision without consulting him one bit. He could see it in her eyes, she was ready and willing to embark on this voyage, no matter how skeptical her First Officer was. He simply grunted and stood, opening the door for her before he followed her out into the hallway and down to their final meetings of the day.

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_**A/N: Very short intro chapter, but I hope you all enjoyed! I'm already really enjoying writing this, so the next chapter should be up soon, and it will definitely be longer. :) Drop a review, let me know what you think and if I should change anything! Thanks! 3**_


	2. Chapter 2: Annoyance

_**A/N: I hope you're all enjoying this fic so far! :)**_

"I must say, I am glad you and our dear Captain have taken on this voyage, Arrow."

Arrow sighed inwardly, finishing the sentence he'd been writing and setting the pen down on top of the paperwork Amelia had asked him to finish. It had been like this for the last week, with different officers coming in to both he and Amelia's offices and making unwelcome comments about them accepting Doctor Doppler's voyage request. The easiest way Amelia had dealt with their unwelcome appearances was to ignore them or simply cut them off with a polite "_thank you, is there anything else?", _but Arrow was less patient, especially with this Felid man.

Fleet Admiral Roman Johnson had come in uninvited, as he tended to do when he felt he could. Taller than most officers, he used both his physical height, charm, and rank to his advantage, finding ways to get what he wanted without going through the proper channels.

Neither Arrow nor Amelia particularly liked Roman, his overconfident demeanor and bluntness more often an annoyance than anything else. But he ranked above both of them, so they were forced to treat him with an inkling of respect, no matter how painful it was to do so.

But what bothered Arrow most about Roman was his approach to his best friend. Amelia's position when it came to relationships and the like was well known throughout the Navy, yet that didn't seem to deter Roman. In fact, it seemed to simply spur him along.

He did respect her as a captain, it was hard not to. She demanded said respect, and it was so much easier to give in to her wishes rather than fight them. Yet he still saw her as an obviously misguided woman who had miraculously and successfully stumbled into a man's position. As strong and talented as she was, she was still a woman… and women needed a man in their lives to remind them of their place in life. And so Roman took it upon himself to be patient with her, keeping his attempts at wooing her as subtly as he could without triggering her defense mechanism of shutting someone out completely. He knew that with women as stubborn as Amelia, it was best to go slowly.

But Amelia was not stupid, nor was Arrow. They both saw through his charade, and neither was pleased with it. Even so, Roman couldn't do much more than Amelia allowed, and so she had 'called off the dogs' and told Arrow to deal with Roman in the most professional way he could so that their reputations were not tarnished.

And so, it was with great restraint and displeasure that Arrow gave Roman a polite, albeit forced, smile as he watched him confidently stride into the room.

"Hello, Roman."

"How are you, Arrow? Looking a bit worn out, there." he sighed. "Perhaps spacing alongside Amelia is finally taking its toll?"

It took all the strength in Arrow's body not to verbally rip Roman to shreds as a slow smirk spread over the Felid's lips. He was yet again referring to his continuous and very unwelcome offer to take Arrow's place aboard the Legacy. It was a ploy to get closer to Amelia, in more ways than one, and even if Arrow felt Roman could do his job well, he still wouldn't agree. He didn't trust him as far as he could throw him with the entire Naval fleet attached to his ankles.

"I assure you, I am alive and well as ever. Is there something you needed, sir? I am quite busy."

Roman frowned for a moment, before smiling again and taking a seat across from Arrow at his desk.

"I simply came to check on my old friend." he said smoothly, putting a slight emphasis on 'old'. "See if there's anything I could help with to get this new voyage of yours underway…? It is quite an exciting one. Traveling to uncharted space, following a map that could be a complete hoax, with a crew you won't be meeting until the day of the voyage..."

Arrow drew a breath to calm himself. It only took him a brief moment to sort out what he wanted to say, deciding between whether to share their progress with Roman, or keep him in the dark. Arrow opted for the former, justifying it by reminding himself that Roman was his superior, and would find out anyway. It was best he hears it from someone actually involved in the preparation for this voyage.

"Captain Amelia has everything handled. We will be setting sail 0800 hours, we have sufficient fuel, our galley shelves are stocked, and we will be meeting our financier and crew before we leave and will be setting the ground rules then. I will be performing a quick check of everything before the Captain arrives, and then she will do her rounds as usual before we take off. I am only polishing off our inventory sheets one last time so that we are set to go." Arrow said, quickly signing the last sheet of paper and sliding the paperwork into a manila folder.

"Ah, very... efficient. I see you have everything under control." Roman said, coughing around the catch in his voice. He squared his shoulders suddenly, putting on his mask of authority. "If you should need anything, feel free to ask, my door is always open to you and the lovely Captain."

Arrow stood, tucking his folder under his arm and giving Roman a quick nod, ignoring his 'lovely' comment.

"It is appreciated, Admiral Johnson. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with our work crew to ensure that the Legacy has passed its inspection, which I'm sure it has." he took a moment to smile. "The Captain would have my head if it didn't."

Roman stood as well, straightening his jacket before walking towards the door. Arrow towered over him by almost a foot, but his rank made him feel as if he were the one towering.

"Yes, well, perhaps I will pay our Captain a visit… See if she needs anything?"

Arrow did not like the way Roman's voice deepened at the mentioning of Amelia, and quickly took it upon himself to lie her out of an unpleasant visit from Roman. She was already feeling a bit of tension due to other officers pestering her, she didn't need this imp bursting into her office with the intention of trying to toy with her emotions. She had enough to think about as it was, especially since it seemed that there were a million things to take care of before setting off tomorrow morning. No, she didn't need more frustration.

"She won't be in her office, Admiral. She has a meeting with myself and the engineer, then some other business to take care of planetside."

Roman squinted at the stony man before him, raising an eyebrow at him. Arrow's features never changed, his eye never twitched. Either he was telling the truth, or he was a very convincing liar. Either way, Roman knew he wouldn't be seeing Amelia right now, not if Arrow had anything to say about it.

"Unfortunate," he stated simply, before turning on his heel and making his exit.

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"That pompous idiot just does not understand the word 'no', does he?"

Amelia threw the completed folder Arrow had given her earlier in the day on the coffee table. They were seated in Arrow's residence on Montressor, where Amelia spent a good majority of her time when they weren't sailing. After a full day of meetings, going over their navigational plans, finalizing mountains of paperwork, and barely making it through the last few hours of the workday… both Arrow and Amelia were more than ready to collapse in his living room until morning.

But when Arrow casually mentioned his visit from Admiral Johnson, he'd sent Amelia off into a tangent that had lasted almost a full hour.

"Apparently not, Amelia." Arrow said softly, refilling his cup of camomile tea before settling back onto the plush couch he was on. He knew it was best to keep it concise when she was in a mood such as this, giving her time to talk out her frustrations.

He watched her pace on the other side of the coffee table, before sitting down roughly on the loveseat and reclining over the arms of it. Her legs dangled over one arm, her head supported by the other.

"I simply don't understand men. A women tells them over and over how she does not want anything to do with them, and yet they clammer after her like a stray dog after a piece of rotting meat." she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "...And by men, I, of course, don't mean you, Arrow."

"I gathered," he chuckled, blowing on his tea before sipping it. "But I wouldn't think too much about Roman, tomorrow we set sail and you won't have to see him for two and a half months, at least."

"If we're fortunate, something will go horribly wrong and we'll be gone for so long that he forgets we exist." Amelia smiled, running a hand through her hair before letting her eyes close.

"Oh, I doubt that, Amelia." Arrow chuckled.

There was silence for a long while, the only sounds Amelia could focus on being the sound of the fire in the fireplace and the soft sounds of Arrow reading the book he'd been meaning to finish for the past month.

"Arrow, what if this voyage is a failure?"

It's spoken in a soft tone, and when Arrow looks up from his book, he finds Amelia staring at the ceiling, her brow knitted in concern. At this moment, she isn't the formidable Captain Amelia, she is simply Amelia: a young woman who had worked against her family's wishes, defied expectations, and worked hard to get where she was… worried about a choice she had made.

Closing his book, Arrow leaned forward and resting his elbows on his knees, clearing his throat to get her attention.

"Amelia, do you remember our voyage to Galia?"

Amelia grimaced, laughing uncomfortably at the memory of spilled flowers and pollen blowing across the deck and into the Etherium, never to be seen again. They had been blamed for the loss, even though the cargo had not been secured correctly by the company that had wanted to ship it. They had been mocked, especially when they returned to Crescentia covered in the fine pink dust that the flowers had released when they'd made their escape.

"I have been trying to forget it," she said, raising an eyebrow at him. "Thank you for reminding me."

Arrow smiled as she swung her legs down and faced him, her arms crossed as she leaned back into the loveseat's cushions.

"I'm sure you remember the ridicule." he watched her eyes fall to the table in front of her, her frown deepening. "The jokes, the snickering…"

"Of course I remember." Amelia cut in. "They found it fitting that I couldn't successfully complete such a voyage. They said it was my failed attempt at masking my femininity and inferiority."

"But it didn't end our careers," Arrow said proudly, causing her to look back up at him. "We were younger then. It hurt more, and it was harder to handle. But we prevailed. We took on more voyages, we've succeeded in all we've done. We proved them wrong. _You_ proved them wrong."

Amelia couldn't help but smile as his words washed over her. True, the ridicule had stung greatly, but once she realized that she was the one in control of her destiny, she was able to ignore the naysayers and move on to become to woman she was today. The insecurities were still there, but she was able to put a mask over them to portray the image of confidence that others had come to expect of her. Only Arrow knew when she was second-guessing herself.

"So if this voyage turns out to be nothing but a very long, very stressful holiday… So be it." Arrow grinned, and Amelia grinned with him. "It will be a learning experience for the next one."

Arrow truly was the best friend and First Officer anyone could ask for. Even during her darkest moments, he was there for her. And knowing he would always be there gave Amelia that final push she needed to put her all into this voyage. The folder on the table was opened, and they ran over the details for their trip one last time.

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As she fell asleep in the guest room that night, Amelia could only smile knowing that she was only hours away from embarking on yet another voyage, with her vigilant First Officer at her side, as loyal and permanent as ever.

_**A/N: I hope this was okay! I know it's moving slowly but that's the point! Lots of inner thoughts and whatever. And I had to add in an annoying character because… I like conflict XD Thanks for reading and review please!**_


	3. Chapter 3: Departure

He woke up before anyone else, the excitement he felt putting him in such a good mood, he could hardly sleep any longer. Today was the day. After only a week or two of planning, he and Jim would be embarking on the adventure of a lifetime… a voyage that most spacers could only dream of. A voyage that many in his field thought to be impossible.

And he was going to be a part of it.

Delbert silently wondered what he had done to deserve such a privilege. He was just a humble astrophysicist, content to remain on Montressor and spend his days stargazing, only dreaming of sailing among the very stars he studied. But even with his limited experience spacing, he had been chosen by whatever entity to embark on this voyage. He would be returning home with some spacing under his belt, something he never thought he would be able to do.

Sliding his hands behind his head, Delbert couldn't help but sigh for a moment before he let his mind wander to the subject he'd rather not think about.

He knew the map was real, he didn't doubt that for a second. All his studying and in-depth thought on the Etherium had him well-equipped when it came to mapping. They would be reaching Treasure Planet, no doubt. But the voyage was dangerous, to say the least. Who knew what they could run into? They could run into an asteroid, which could result in them being stranded. The ship could be attacked by pirates, especially as they closed in on the planet. The wildlife on Treasure Planet could be carnivorous, which meant they might have to fight their way out of danger. Then there was the possibility that they either couldn't or wouldn't find the treasure itself. They could end up wandering the planet for days, weeks, even months or a year… and find nothing. He would hate for he and Jim's first expedition to end in disappointment. The boy had had enough of that already.

But focusing on the negative what-ifs would not help him accomplish his goals today.

With this in mind, he vowed to keep a positive attitude about the voyage and its outcome. He jumped from his bed enthusiastically... only to unceremoniously face plant onto the floor, his bedsheets tangled around his ankles.

"Suppose I misjudged my own athletic ability..." He grunted, sighing as he rolled onto his side to unwrap himself. Only he could've had such an accident before even leaving his bedroom.

Once he was freed, he very gingerly folded his sheets before tossing them onto the bed. The last thing he needed was to get injured before ever stepping foot on the ship.

Walking towards the bathroom, he reflected on the events of the past week or so.

After convincing Sarah that he and Jim would be just fine, they went down to the Royal Navy offices to procure a ship. They had waited anxiously in the sitting area, Delbert's foot tapping so quickly that Sarah had to gently scold him on his childlike behavior.

They'd met with a man by the name of Admiral Roman Johnson, a tall Felid man who apparently rubbed Sarah the "wrong way". But she kept silent after greetings were exchanged and they filed into the man's office. Delbert took the seat directly across the desk from Admiral Johnson, with Jim and Sarah seated behind him in the chairs lined up against the wall.

Johnson had been more than a bit surprised when Delbert gave him the details of the voyage. He'd given Delbert an amused smirk, accompanied by a raised eyebrow as he read through the paperwork.

"_Treasure Planet, huh? Interesting. May I see this...map?"_

Jim had reluctantly handed it over, and Johnson had merely gave the bronze sphere a quick once-over before tossing it back to the boy.

"_Well, Doctor Doppler. I believe I know exactly the ship for you. You will only need to hire a crew and you will be set."_

"_Really? Well thank you, thank you very much!" Delbert grinned, shaking the man's hand enthusiastically._

Delbert smiled to himself. It was wonderful that he had not had to find a captain on his own, he had no experience in such things. And Admiral Johnson had assured him that this Captain Smollet was the best in their field.

After they departed, they returned to Delbert's home where they began packing and making the necessary calls. Jim made sure he was able to return to school when they got back, which was part of his agreement with Sarah. Delbert called around to ensure that Sarah wouldn't be without while they were gone. After that was done, they made a quick trip to the market for supplies they thought they would need, including one very large yellow spacesuit.

Delbert smiled, turning his head to see the spacesuit slumped against his suitcases. He knew he would look silly in it... Jim had almost begged him to return it and Sarah had reminded him several times that he wouldn't need it. But better safe than sorry. If something went wrong, he would have his own supply of oxygen and a shield against any projectiles. He put his fists on his hips and nodded affirmatively. As long as he didn't have to run or walk quickly in it, the spacesuit would be very helpful.

He grabbed a towel from the linen closet, humming a jaunty tune as he entered the bathroom and turned on the shower. The days leading up to now had slugged by. Delbert had busied himself with getting a head start on his astrophysical studies, but had found out that nothing was more painful than trying to pass the time by staring into a telescope. He had turned to helping Sarah find contractors for the new Benbow, but that had only turned out to be depressing since almost every single contractor had rejected them when they found out the payment for the Benbow would be coming from Treasure Planet. No one believe them, with many of them scolding the two of them for trying to prank a business.

Jim had busied himself by reading old tales of Flint and his treasure trove, randomly appearing from his bedroom to point out something in a book to Delbert and his mother. It had done Delbert good to see Jim so excited, and again he prayed that they would find Treasure Planet, if only for Jim's sake.

XXXXXXXXX

Today was the day. Jim listened silently to the sound of running water down the hall, a groan escaping him as he struggled to wake up. How was Doc up before him? Maybe he was even more excited than Jim was, which Jim personally didn't think was possible. He hadn't been this hyped up about something since he and Brandon found that old solar surfer down in the mineshaft behind the Benbow when he was 10. Jim chuckled as he sat up and stretched, remembering how mad his mom had been when he showed up for dinner, covered in dirt from digging the surfer out. She told him he could've been hurt, and Jim thought he probably could have looked more apologetic as she was scolding him. But he had been so excited about all the new parts they'd found that all he could do was smile. Sarah had sighed and told him to go to his room and wash up, realizing she wasn't getting through to him and was better off not wasting her breath.

He guessed he felt a little guilty about it… She had just been worried about his safety. With Dad gone, she was the only one to look after him. And she was always so busy running the Benbow that she couldn't always keep an eye on her son… So she had to simply warn him of the dangers around him and hope he was listening. And he had been… well, sort of.

Life on Montressor was just so boring! He wanted the life a spacer, a life of adventure, danger, and intrigue! But a juvenile delinquent had almost zero chance of becoming anything more than a dock worker. So this trip to Treasure Planet was as close as he would get. If he could never become a true spacer, at least he would get a chance to explore the Etherium like one.

Jim swung his legs over the edge of his bed, sighing as he checked the clock on the nightstand. He had better get dressed, they were due at Crescentia in a couple of hours and he knew his mom wouldn't let them leave the house without eating at least a little breakfast. Yanking a towel off of the floor, Jim sniffed it and shrugged, deciding it was clean enough. No point dirtying up another towel when a semi-clean one was available. It had to be washed anyway, right?

XXXXXXX

Today was the day. They were leaving, for who knew how long? Weeks? Months? Sarah didn't know. Was she worried? Of course she was. Jim was her only son, and Delbert was her closest friend. The Etherium was unpredictable, anything could happen to them. A meteorite could hit their ship, a solar storm could throw them off course, or the same band of pirates that had burned down her inn could find them again.

Sarah sighed, slowly stirring her tea as she watched the pancakes cook in front of her. How could she have agreed to let them go? They were too important to her… But still, it was the adventure of a lifetime, something her son had been waiting for his whole life. She'd seen the way his eyes lit up whenever he talked about it, and her heart ached to think of what he would say if she tried to take this voyage away from him. But he was her baby, her precious little boy. If she lost him… If she lost them both…

The sound of footsteps behind her shook her out of her thoughts, and she quickly flipped the pancake in front of her before whoever it was noticed she was dazed.

"Good morning, Sarah!"

Sarah smiled to herself, recognizing the excited lift to Delbert's voice. She turned to face him, laughing softly when she saw him bounding towards the kitchen, his suitcases already placed by the front door down the hall.

"Good morning, Delbert. Sleep well?"

"I hardly slept at all." he chuckled, taking a seat at the island in the middle of the kitchen, suddenly ramming his elbow into the edge of the counter. Sarah watched his face twist into a grimace, but he swallowed his cry of pain and forced a smile. "You?"

"I slept fine," she lied, giving him what she hoped was a convincing smile. "Is Jim up?"

Delbert looked at her for a moment, rubbing his sore elbow. He could read the worry in her eyes, and it caused a dull ache in his chest to see how she was trying to mask it. Sarah had always been there for him, and he had tried to do the same. And even though he was beyond excited about this journey, he wondered if he was making the right decision to leave her here alone.

"I believe so… Are you alright?" he reached across the counter and gently took her hand, searching her obviously tired eyes.

Sarah couldn't help but smile at the concern he was showing. He truly was a good friend. He had been her metaphorical rock all these years, offering help when he could such as gifting her financially and watching over Jim when he had a chance. He was something of a father figure to her son, and he was well appreciated. Even now, he was allowing them to stay in his large home until they figured something else out. He didn't have to do that, and yet he did. He had sacrificed for her many times over the years, especially after Leland left her. The morning that her ex-husband had run off, Jim knew exactly who to call when he returned to the house and found his mother still sobbing at the table. Delbert had been right at her side as she cried out her pain, and had helped her get Jim to and from school as she fought through the deep depression she'd felt. He was more than a friend, he was family. She could trust him to keep an eye on her son in space, he would never let anything happen to him. She really needn't worry so much.

"...I will be." she smiled, squeezing his hand fondly before looking up to find Jim standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Mornin', Mom." Jim said, sitting down next to Delbert. "Sleep okay?"

"I did," Sarah replied, smiling as she placed their plates of pancakes and eggs in front of them. "Now eat up, you two have a busy day ahead."

XXXXXX

"Alright, let's load up the carriage!" Delbert grinned, hoisting his suitcase over his shoulder and stepping out the front door.

Sarah helped with the bags, humming softly as she followed Jim out to Delbert's carriage. She set the bags on the ground then went up to Delilah and pet her head gently. She sighed, watching Delbert and Jim grab the rest of their things and put them in.

"I'm going to miss them, Delilah… But at least I'll have you until they return." she whispered, laughing when Delilah nuzzled her hand and licked her cheek fondly.

"Alright, that was the last one." Jim said decisively, dusting his hands off on his pants. "C'mon Mom, we gotta go."

Sarah smiled softly at her son, gently shaking her head no.

"I won't be going up to the Spaceport with you."

Jim blinked, sliding his hands into his pockets as his brows knitted with worry.

"You… You're not? W...Why not?"

"Your… Your mother thought it'd be best if she saw us off here." Delbert interjected gently, placing a hand on Jim's shoulder. "I'll leave you two to say your goodbyes."

Jim watched Delbert walk back into the house, then turned back to his mother. Sarah gave him a weak smile, taking a step towards him and brushing his cheek with her thumb.

"My little boy… Going away on his first adventure… You look just like your father," she said softly, tears in her eyes. Her voice caught as a tearful chuckle escaped her. "But don't you get too enamored up there, alright? I expect _you_ to come back to me, young man."

Jim couldn't help but smile a little, giving her a gentle nod as he placed his hand over the one on his cheek.

"Don't worry, Mom, I'll be back before you know it. And with buckets full of treasure, I promise."

Sarah sighed, running a hand through his hair once, gently fixing his collar.

"I could care less about the gold and jewels… as long as this treasure comes back safe and sound." she said softly, placing a kiss on his forehead.

"Aw, Mom… So sappy…" Jim grinned, his cheeks turning bright red at his mother's display of affection.

His smile faded when he saw the serious look in her eyes, and he tensed.

"Promise me, James."

Jim searched her eyes, and it struck him all of a sudden how much this was worrying her. He meant more to her than he could ever imagine, he could see that now. She needed him to come back to her, even if it meant empty-handed.

"I promise, Mom. I'll come back. I'll make you proud, like I said."

XXXXXXX

When Delbert's carriage disappeared down the road towards the transport station, it left behind a large cloud of dust, a nearly empty mansion, and one very hopeful and confident Sarah Hawkins.

_**A/N: I HOPE THIS WAS OKAY ALRIGHT I GOT SUCH WRITERS BLOCK OMG**_


	4. Chapter 4: Impression

_**A/N: I hope everyone is enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it! Thanks for all the really great reviews :D**_

Crescentia Spaceport was more crowded than usual, but that never bothered Amelia. It was always busy on days when others knew she was embarking on a voyage, with many people wanting to watch the Legacy take off. But how could she blame them? Her ship truly was a sight to behold with its large glimmering solar sails and ivory hull. She would never grow tired of the excitement that hung in the air from those around her, fueling her own excitement.

The only thing that put a damper on her good mood as she walked up the gangplank was the sight of her crew for this voyage. They were lined up on the deck, a scattered assortment, with most of them looking more like escaped convicts than anyone with spacing experience. Where in the Etherium had this Doctor Doppler found these men?

One tall cyborg stood out to her, his cyborg eye glinting in the light of the solar sails. Judging by the large apron he wore, he was more than likely Mr. John Silver, the cook. He gave her a polite nod, watching her walk down the line, getting a closer look at her 'crew'.

"This is Captain Amelia," Arrow announced, gesturing to Amelia confidently when she finished her inspection and standing next to him. "Her word is law on the Legacy. If any of you have an issue with that, I suggest you take your leave now. You can and will be replaced."

There was a long silence as Amelia and Arrow gave them a chance to leave. They all couldn't maintain eye contact, with many of them staring at the deck or out at the Spaceport docks… except for Mr. Silver. He stood as tall as he could, shooting Amelia a grin that sent chills down her spine.

"Very well, then." Arrow said at last, breaking the silence. "You have chosen to remain, which means you will abide by these rules…"

As Mr. Arrow listed the various rules and regulations of the Legacy to them, Amelia gave them one more once-over. They were of all different species and all different planets… But they all seemed to have the same air of distrust about them. She immediately knew that she would need to keep an eye on every single one of them, and wondered if she would even be able to depend on them in a firefight.

XXXXXXX

"So, Captain. What do you think of our crew?"

Amelia shot Arrow a look over the rim of her cup of coffee, his casual tone hitting a nerve. They were seated in her stateroom, giving the crew a chance to get more acclimated with the ship before they set sail. She took a long sip of her coffee, never breaking eye contact with him. When she finished sipping, she calmly set her cup down, interlacing her fingers atop her desk.

"They are a ludicrous parcel of driveling galoots," she practically hissed before throwing her hands up in frustration and standing from her desk to pace. "We needn't worry about being attacked by pirates on this voyage, we've already invited them aboard the ship!"

Arrow watched her, amused at her obvious irritation. He set his own cup down, spinning in his chair to watch her walk to her locked cabinet and pull out her blaster.

"You were the one who agreed to let the man hire his own crew."

"I thought he'd have enough common sense to hire a decent one!" she huffed, making sure she had enough ammo in the blaster before tucking it away and locking the cabinet again. "This Doctor Doppler must be the most unobservant, hard headed, idiotic man that has ever existed."

Arrow raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over chest and fixing her with a hard gaze.

"Come now, Amelia. Give the man a break. He has next-to-no spacing experience, and the crew honestly does not seem that bad. A bit random, but not bad. They could be very hard workers for all we know. I spoke with Mr. Silver before you arrived, and he seemed to be a dependable man."

"Well that's just lovely. At least now we know that while the rest of the crew is pointing their firearms at us, Mr. Silver will be able to serve us a delicious last meal."

Arrow chuckled at her comment, watching as she grabbed her hat from the hook by the large window behind her desk and placed it on her head. She sighed, putting her arms behind her back and staring out of the glass panes. Arrow stood, joining her at the window.

"I'm… worried, Arrow. This crew seems untrustworthy. They outnumber us. If a mutiny should occur…"

"I will be right at your side, fighting them off, as I always have been." he smiled reassuringly, placing a large hand on her shoulder. "Now, I think I should go meet our financier, who I believe is that large yellow blob coming up the gangplank."

Amelia followed his gaze, chuckling when she saw the man teetering onto her ship, accompanied by a young human man who seemed to be trying to look as if he wasn't associated with Doctor Doppler. She couldn't blame him though, the man looked like a giant fluorescent doughnut hole.

"Oh, good heavens, he's one of those overly cautious types. Lovely." she laughed, straightening her hat before turning towards the door. "Perhaps we shall put Mr. Hawkins with Mr. Silver. He looks quite young. Keeping him down in the galley will keep him from getting into trouble, don't you think?"

"Aye, Captain." Arrow laughed.

XXXXXX

Delbert grinned widely, staring up into the solar sails of the ship as they walked up the gangplank. It was even more breathtaking in person, and he still couldn't believe they would be aboard it for at least a month. The excitement he felt in his chest increased, and he wondered if it were possible to have heart failure from being too happy.

Jim rushed up the gangplank and sighed when his feet landed on the deck. It was finally doing it, he was finally going into space. If only Dad could see him now...

XXXXXX

"Greetingsssss, Captain…"

Amelia felt the back of her neck tingle, but kept herself calm as she turned around to face Mr. Scroop. They were high above the deck, amongst the solar sails. She had been closely inspecting what looked to be a small hole in one of the sails when Mr. Scroop had silently appeared behind her. She was thankful for her sure footing and great sense of balance, for without it, his unexpected appearance would have caused her to fall right off of the beam they were on.

"Hello, Mr. Scroop. What is it you need?"

Scroop flashed her a wide grin, his spider-like appendages gripping the sails as he began making his way towards her. Amelia stood her ground, her hand gently palming the blaster attached to the back of her uniform, beneath her jacket.

"I ssssimply wanted to sssay… how _honored _ I am to be ssssserving… under your command…"

"Ah...very good." Amelia said cautiously, her ear perking up when she heard Arrow's voice. She looked down to the deck, relieved to have found an excuse to exit this conversation. "Thank you, Mr. Scroop. Now, be about your business."

She didn't wait around to hear his reply, quickly leaping from the beam down to the next one. She swung down past the rigging she had used to climb up, doing an impressive somersault in the air before landing perfectly on the deck, her hands behind her back.

Arrow sighed inwardly and fought the urge to roll his eyes, but couldn't help smiling a little at the surprised looks on Doctor Doppler and James's faces. Amelia looked quite pleased with herself, and he had to admit, she knew how to make an entrance. He snapped to attention as she made her way over, squaring his shoulders.

"Mr. Arrow, I've checked this miserable ship from stem to stern and as usual…" she paused, a smile spreading over her lips. "It's spot-on. Can you get nothing wrong?"

Arrow smiled and tipped his hat towards her, recognizing her routine display of authoritative banter that he had grown used to.

"You flatter me, Captain."

Amelia gave him a smile, finally turning her attention to the large yellow ball that happened to contain their Canid financier.

Delbert was at a loss for words. Here he was, expecting a male captain, preferably the stony man he'd just spoken with… And yet the captain was this, he had to admit, attractive Felid female, decked out in official Naval uniform, practically glowing with confidence. He felt himself tense as she stepped towards he and Jim, the smirk on her lips giving him a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Suddenly his large spacesuit felt just a little too tight, as if she were shrinking it with her very gaze.

"Ah, Doctor Doppler, I presume."

Her voice was crisp, clipped, and laced with a teasing tone that just didn't sit right with Delbert. Still stunned by the fact that she was not at all what he expected, he found himself tongue-tied and on the receiving end of a couple of teasing smiles coming from this Captain and her First Officer. This was not going well.

"Uh, um, yes, I uh…"

"Hello? Can you hear me?" Amelia teased, knocking on the helmet that Doctor Doppler wore as part of his spacesuit.

"Yes, I can! Stop that banging!" Delbert cried, the knocking sounding much louder inside the helmet. He now knew why fish and other creatures that sometimes dwelled in tanks hated the knocking so much. It was disorienting. He grunted, trying to remove said helmet so she couldn't do it again, but it almost wouldn't budge.

Amelia smiled, watching him with an amused grin. She was being unfair, teasing him this way. But she couldn't help herself, he was like a walking punchline in that suit. She listened to him try to get out a coherent sentence, and took it upon herself to assist him, realizing the spacesuit wasn't even set up correctly.

"If I may, Doctor, this works so much better when it's right way up and…" she grabbed ahold of the electrical plug at the front of the suit, spun him around, and plugged it into the socket at the back. "...plugged in. Lovely, there you go."

Delbert felt as if he were in the midst of the world's most frustrating tornado. Words flew around his head like comets, and he felt dizzy in more ways than one. In all his years as an astrophysicist, never had he felt so lost in a conversation. He felt as if she were running circles around him intellectually.

Jim watched the trainwreck of a conversation, unsure of what to make of it. He didn't like this Captain, not at all. Who did she think she was...? And her First Officer wasn't doing a thing about it. A lot of help he was. But even as irritated as he was at her, not a thing could have persuaded Jim to jump in and rescue the Doc. He was on his own, here.

"If you don't mind, I can manage my own plugging!" Delbert finally said in a huff, tugging off the helmet and waving said plug in the Captain's face. He had to prove he wasn't as inept as he may have seemed by now… But it seemed she hadn't heard a word he'd said.

"I'm Captain Amelia," she said briskly, shaking his hand quickly before releasing it. "Late of a few run-ins with the Procyon Armada, nasty business, but I won't bore you with my scars."

She turned to Arrow, her quick tongue going a million miles an hour. Delbert could hardly keep up.

"You've met my First Officer, Mr. Arrow. Sterling, tough, dependable, honest, brave, and true."

Arrow smiled, fighting the swell of pride he felt. This had become a regular thing with her, playing up his admirable qualities in an attempt to intimidate others, but it was still enough to make his face warm.

"Please, Captain…"

"Oh shut up, Arrow, you know I don't mean a word of it." Amelia said with a smile, taking the edge off of her words.

Delbert took this time to collect his thoughts, calling attention to himself again when they finished so that he might finally prove how he was capable of holding a decent conversation with this off-putting woman.

"Ahem, excuse me. I hate to interrupt this… lovely banter." he took a breath, gesturing towards Jim as Captain Amelia's gaze drifted lazily to them. "But may I introduce to you, Jim Hawkins. Jim, you see, is the boy who found the treasure-"

Amelia's ears perked as she realized what he was about to say. A quick glance around them reminded her of their 'crew', and she moved forward to clamp Doctor Doppler's mouth shut before he could get out another word.

"Doctor, please."

They waited a moment, and she watched the crew get back to work before she continued. Delbert's face screwed up into a grimace when she finally released him, thoroughly offended.

"I'd like a word with you in my stateroom."

She then turned on her heel and began walking towards the stairs behind her, ignoring Delbert's attempt at speaking.

"You too, Mr. Hawkins," she called over her shoulder.

Arrow gestured for them to follow her, and waited until they did so. He gave the crew one last once-over before heading up the stairs to Amelia's stateroom as well.

XXXXXXX

Once everyone had filed into her stateroom, Amelia locked the door behind her, listening to the satisfying metallic clunk it made.

"Doctor," she said in an almost condescending tone, walking towards him slowly as she spoke. "To muse, and blabber, about a _treasure map _in front of this particular crew… Demonstrates a level of ineptitude that borders on the imbecillic. And I mean that in a very caring way."

Delbert was taken aback. Was she calling him an imbecile? How dare she? All he had done was mention the treasure map, he was sure the crew was already at least somewhat aware of their destination…

"Imbecillic, did you say? Foolishness! I've got-"

"May I see the map, please?" Amelia interrupted, not in the mood to hear any of his mindless rambling.

Delbert huffed, turning to Jim. Jim shrugged, not sure if they could even trust this Captain Amelia. In the span of a few minutes, she had managed to insult, berate, and humiliate Delbert in ways only someone who believed they were better than the rest of the universe could. Delbert reluctantly gestured for him to hand it over. As unhappy with her as he was, she was still the captain, and without her, they wouldn't be going anywhere.

"Here," Jim grunted, tossing the map in her general direction. He almost hoped she wouldn't catch it.

Which, of course, she did. Rather quickly, in fact. A small part of him was impressed…. But only a small part. Amelia gave him a deadpan look, not pleased with his attitude towards her at all. She would need to fix that. But for now...

"Hm… Fascinating." Amelia said softly, her eyes wide as she finally turned her attention to the small sphere in her hand. It was unlike any map she had ever seen before, and she wasn't even sure how they would follow it. But now was not the time for that.

"Mr. Hawkins, you will address me as 'Captain' or 'Ma'am', is that clear?" Amelia set the map in a locked box in her cabinet, locking the cabinet as well.

"Ugh…" Jim scoffed, rolling his eyes. Really, who did she think she was?

'_Oh, right. The captain. The captain who you need in order to go to Treasure Planet, so you can get the treasure to help Mom rebuild the Benbow. That's who she is.'_

"Mr. Hawkins…?" Amelia's voice tensed slightly, her patience beginning to wear a bit thin with the boy.

"...Yes, Ma'am." Jim said, changing his tone slightly. If they were going to get anything done on this trip, he was going to have to cooperate with her, and that meant calling her whatever she wanted him to.

"That'll do." Amelia said quickly, accepting his reluctant response and turning back to face the center of the room to address the three of them. "Gentlemen, this must be kept under lock and key when not in use."

Delbert turned his head to inspect the paperwork on her desk, trying to give her the least amount of attention he could without being completely disrespectful. But he had to turn to her when she walked up to him and addressed him.

"And Doctor, again, with the greatest possible respect…" she leaned forward to drive her point home. "Zip your howling screamer."

Delbert scoffed, obviously flustered as she moved away towards her desk.

"Captain, I assure you, I-"

"Let me make this as... monosyllabic as possible," Amelia interrupted, taking her seat at her desk as Arrow pushed the chair up for her.

Delbert threw his hands up in frustration. This woman was impossible! He couldn't even get a word in edgewise!

"I don't much care for this crew _you _hired." she said as she toyed with the pencil and compass on her desk. "They're… How did I describe them, Arrow, I said something rather good this morning before coffee."

"A ludicrous parcel of driveling galoots, _Ma'am._" Arrow said, a tiny smile on his face.

Amelia's lips quirked into a smile, her ear perking as Arrow spoke.

"There you go. Poetry."

Delbert's anger boiled. He had had enough of this. She had insulted his attire, his intellect, his common sense… There was only so much abuse one man could take.

"Now, see here!" he growled, slamming his hands down on her desk.

Amelia didn't even flinch. She simply set her pencil and compass down, standing to her feet.

"Doctor, I'd love to chat," she said quickly, effectively dismissing whatever he was about to say. "Tea, cake, the whole shebang… But I have a ship to launch, and you've got your outfit to buff up."

Delbert blinked as she ran one manicured claw up the collar of his suit before standing at attention, addressing her First Officer.

"Mr. Arrow, please escort these two neophytes down to the galley straight away." She ignored the frustrated grunt she heard from Doctor Doppler. "Young Hawkins will be working with our cook, Mr. Silver."

Jim jumped, releasing the navigational equipment he'd been toying with, shocked and confused. A cabin boy? He was going to be a cabin boy? Really?

"What? The cook?"

"Yes, Mr. Hawkins. I believe it will build character. Now," she took her seat at her desk again. "Off you go, I have much to attend to."

Once Arrow filed them out of her stateroom, Amelia sat back in her desk chair, a satisfied grin on her face.

"That went quite well, don't you think?" she laughed to herself.

_**A/N: Whooooooo! This chapter was way longer than I meant it to be! AAAAAAAAHHHH But I think it's going pretty good! I am LOVING writing this so far. Little piece of advice though. NEVER PAUSE TREASURE PLANET. I had to pause it a few times to get the lines correct for some of these scenes and oooooh my gosh. The faces. I can't. Oof. Anyway, drop a review please! Let me know how I'm doing! I love all the reviews! And the person who keeps leaving reviews as 'Guest' I really appreciate all the feedback! You guys are all awesome!**_


	5. Chapter 5: Takeoff

_**A/N: Hey guys! So, just a quick warning, there won't be much more of Silver's point of view after this. There will be some, but don't expect as much as say Delbert or Amelia's. Don't get me wrong, he's a really great villain and all, but I don't want to spend as much time in his head, if that makes sense lol ALSO THERE BE BEER IN THIS CHAPTER I SOWWY. ENJOY!**_

Long John Silver mentally gave himself a round of applause. He was finally on his way to Flint's Trove, after all these years… and all he'd had to do was convince the somewhat dimwitted Doctor Doppler to take he and his band of pirates on as an upstanding crew. Doppler had been skeptical at first, which Silver couldn't blame him for. They hadn't met in the most respectable of places…

XXXXXX

_Silver sat at the noisy bar, polishing off his third beer as he waited for the Doctor. It hadn't been hard to convince him to meet here, spinning a tale of some childhood story that resulted in Silver supposedly being more comfortable surrounded by drunks. Silver chuckled to himself as he watched the gangly Canid man walk in, obviously very uncomfortable. His hands gripped his satchel, holding it tightly against his torso as he made his way through the tables. Silver smirked, waving his cyborg hand to call attention to himself. Doppler noticed, hurrying over to him._

"_Hey there, Doc, glad ya found the place!" he grinned, shaking Delbert's hand enthusiastically, who winced and forced a smile._

"_Hello Mr. Silver, yes I… I had to ask around a bit." Delbert laughed awkwardly, taking the stool next to Silver._

"_Now, down to business, aye? Ya wanted me and me crew to join ya for an expedition of sorts?"_

_Delbert nodded, his palms sweating as he set down his satchel on the counter._

"_Y-Yes it's a...ahem…" he lowered his voice, leaning forward a bit. "a top secret voyage...But very um...lucrative."_

_Silver grinned, tapping the bar once and grinning as another beer slid into his hand. Delbert jumped as it slid past, then chuckled uneasily._

"_Lucrative you say? ...How lucrative?" Silver hummed, chugging half of his beer. _

"_W-Well um… I'm not exactly keen on… divulging details quite yet but um..." Delbert coughed a moment, scratching the back of his neck. "I can say it is… far more lucrative than any other voyage you could go on. Every other crew I've tried to procure has turned me down. I hope you'll consider my offer, you and your crew will be paid handsomely, regardless of the voyage's outcome."_

_Silver watched Delbert pull out a large orange envelope from the satchel on his lap, sliding it over for Silver to inspect. Silver raised an eyebrow, opening the envelope and using his cyborg eye to scan its contents slowly. It was a decent amount of cash, in fairly large bills. His intel was correct, this Doppler fellow was loaded. Silver suddenly re-sealed the envelope, chugging the rest of his beer before slamming the mug down on the counter. He smirked as he saw Delbert jump, almost sending his satchel flying._

"_Bartender, another round of drinks!" Silver laughed, waving down the bar._

_Delbert blinked, his eyes wide with confusion._

"_P-Pardon?"_

"_Celebrate, Doc! You've got yourself a crew!"_

XXXXXX

Silver grinned to himself, packing away the last barrel of purps down in the galley. Convincing the Doc hadn't been difficult. It was all the intel gathering beforehand that had been hard. After discovering that Billy Bones, his former right hand man, had run off to Montressor... it hadn't been too hard to find his steaming hull of an escape ship teetering on the edge of a dock near the Benbow Inn. The original plan hadn't been to burn down the inn, but once the flames had gotten started, there wasn't much to be done.

He and his crew had been able to find Bones's remains, alongside the ashes of the treasure chest he'd been carrying the map around in… But no map. Birdbrain Mary had seen carriage tracks leading down the road, alerting Silver to the fact that someone else had been inside the inn before it burned down. The map had to be with them.

It didn't take long for them to follow the tracks to the large Doppler mansion, and Silver quickly formulated a plan of attack before they overheard Jim and Doppler discussing the possibility of a Treasure Planet voyage. Silver had been right there at the window, taking note as Delbert mentioned the need for a crew. All he'd had to do was relay the information to his crew, who he sent out to drop hints in various places where Doppler would be, that there was an 'upstanding crew in need of work'.

Now here he was, working in the galley of the fastest ship in the Royal Navy, tasked with nothing more than keeping his cover as they sped towards the Loot of a Thousand Worlds. Silver grinned as he placed a large pot full of water on the stove, turning on the fire. All he had to do was cook, and he would finally get the treasure he'd been chasing for the last decade.

It was almost too easy.

XXXXXX

"Would you like to observe the launch, Doctor?"

Delbert was shaken from his previous shock from the eyeball floating in his stew, turning to face Mr. Arrow. He was a bit taken aback by his question, but realized that since he was the financier, it made sense that he get to observe such an important aspect of the ship's activities.

"Would I?" he grinned, hoping to diffuse his tense relationship with Mr. Arrow with a bit of humor. "Does an active galactic nucleus have superluminal jets?"

There was an awkward pause as Delbert's joke fell flat. Even Jim looked a bit put off. Arrow resisted the urge to roll his eyes, simply staring at the Doctor's uncomfortable posture.

"I'll follow you," Delbert muttered, stepping around the large man towards the stairs they'd taken to get down to the galley moments ago. Jim turned to follow, his wary eyes still on the cyborg pouring himself a bowl of stew.

"Mr. Hawkins will stay here. In your charge, Mr. Silver."

Arrow fought back a smile as he heard Silver almost choke on the stew he'd been sipping, obviously shocked at the idea of having to keep an eye on the boy. Arrow nudged Jim towards Silver, ignoring their cries of protest.

"Beggin' your pardon, sir but-"

"Captain's orders! See to it the new cabin boy's kept busy..."

Silver and Jim struggled to protest over each other, eventually giving up and letting out simultaneous long sighs. Jim's mood went quickly sour. This trip was going to be more of a pain in the butt than he thought.

XXXXXX

"You may join us on the bridge, Doctor Doppler." Arrow called over his shoulder to the obviously distracted Canid behind him.

Delbert jumped a bit, realizing he was being spoken to.

"O-Oh, wonderful." he smiled, following Mr. Arrow up the stairs and onto the bridge, where Captain Amelia already stood. He felt a dull ache in the pit of his stomach as her eyes landed on him, one perfect eyebrow arched.

"Prepare to cast off!" Arrow announced to the crew as they walked, calling Amelia's attention to the crew moving swiftly across the deck. Delbert took this moment of distraction to truly look at her, and felt his face burn a bit.

She stood tall and confident, her chin tilted upwards, her arms behind her back. Her navy blue coat blew behind her in the gentle Etherium breeze, the strands of her auburn tresses that had wiggled free from her hat waving in the breeze as well. Her stern emerald eyes tracked every movement on her ship, landing on anything of importance and logging it away for later reflection. He had to admit it to himself again, she was a sight to behold… No matter how irritating that sight became as soon as she opened her mouth.

"Welcome, Doctor Doppler," she said, nodding once to him before turning her attention to the screeching Mr. Onus in the crow's nest.

"We are all cleeear Captaaaain!" he shouted.

Amelia nodded once that she understood, turning to the chuckling man beside her. She chose to ignore the obviously amazed Doppler, who peered over the edge of the bridge like a child at the zoo.

"Well, my friend. Shall we raise this creaking tub?"

"All hands to stations!" Arrow bellowed. "Smartly, now!"

Amelia watched carefully as her ship sprang to life, the solar sails glowing with energy. Moments later, she felt the all-too-familiar lift of her feet leaving the deck. She watched Doppler out of the corner of her eye, a bit tickled at the sight of him floating up and away, completely unaware of what was about to happen.

"Mr. Zoff, engage artificial gravity!" she called to the Flatulatant on the lower deck.

It took every taut nerve in her body not to burst into laughter at the sight of Delbert crashing head first onto the deck as gravity took hold of the ship, but she managed to keep her giggles at bay and simply give him a very deadpan stare before turning to the helmsman.

"South by southwest, Mr. Turnbuckle, heading 2-1-0-0."

"Aye, Cap'n. 2-1-0-0."

The ship lurched a bit as they moved into position, something that would have turned any unseasoned spacer's stomach into a wobbly mess. Thankfully, Amelia was not one such spacer. Doppler on the other hand… Seemed to be having a bit of trouble scraping himself off of the deck from his previous collision.

"Full speed, Mr. Arrow, if you please."

"Take her away!"

Amelia listened to the powerful hydraulics warming up, and supposed that perhaps she should take pity on poor Doctor Doppler. She wasn't sure how much more bad fortune he could handle, and with the thrust that her ship had, he could end up seriously injured in a moment.

"Brace yourself, Doctor." she warned, a playful smirk on her lips when she realized he would more than likely not take her warning seriously.

"Meh meh meh…" Doppler huffed. Who did she think he was? Some kind of inept child who couldn't stay standing during liftoff?

The ship lurched forward and just as she had expected, Doppler went flying past her, shouting in panic before he hit the wall behind him in a jumbled heap.

XXXXXX

Jim heard Delbert's unlucky collison and winced, before shrugging and hurrying to the edge of the ship. He watched Crescentia float past them, his heart soaring at the feel of the wind through his hair. He held onto the rigging tightly as they slid out into space, the stars surrounding them like the most beautiful blanket. He had to remind himself to aboard the ship, his entire body wishing to simply let go of the rigging and touch the stairs that had captivated him since he was young.

A pod of _Orcus Galacticus _swam past them, looking even bigger and more fantastic than anything he'd ever seen in a textbook. One came up close to the ship, catching Jim's gaze in its own before turning away and rejoining the pod. Jim laughed, reaching his hand out towards the large creature, knowing he couldn't touch it but reveling in the fact that one day he might.

Arrow watched the boy's amazement, chuckling to himself. He almost reminded him of himself at that age, all wide-eyed and innocent to the darker side of the Etherium and those who dwelled in it.

"Seems our cabin boy is a bit more enthusiastic than he was letting on, Captain."

Amelia followed his gaze, raising an eyebrow.

"Hm. Well, we shall let him have his fun. But Mr. Silver will need to reign him in momentarily, can't have the boy running about the ship while the crew is working."

"Aye, Captain." Arrow said quickly, before glancing down at Doppler, who had left the bridge to get a closer look at the pod from one of the observation areas. "But perhaps you should warn our dear Doctor. He seems to not understand that these creatures are not very photogenic…"

"Upon my word, an _Orcus Galacticus_…"

Amelia looked over at the Doctor, realizing the mistake he was about to make as he moved his camera into position.

"Uh, Doctor, I'd stand clear-"

Her statement was cut off by the sound of warm mucus blasting Doctor Doppler in the face, drowning him in the slippery substance. His camera went off anyway, catching nothing more than a closeup of said mucus.

Amelia let an amused chuckle escape, watching him cough and sputter as he struggled to go down to his cabin to change, embarrassed that she'd seen the whole thing. So much for good first impressions.

"Ah, 'tis a grand day for sailin', Cap'n! And look at ya! You're as trim and as bonny as a sloop with new sails and a fresh coat of paint!" Silver grinned, pulling his hat from his head and moving into a deep bow. The small pink blob, called Morph, sat on his shoulder.

"_Did he just compare me to a boat?"_ Amelia thought, her brow knitted in displeasure.

"You can keep that kind of flimflammery for your spaceport floozies, Silver." she snapped, more than happy to remind Silver right here and now of his place on this ship. She didn't take compliments from just anyone, no matter how well meaning they were.

"Spaceport floozies, spaceport floozies!" Morph chirped, sensing Silver's disappointment, attempting to make him smile with his childlike behavior. Amelia chose to ignore the tiny annoying thing, realizing she had much more pressing matters to attend to than this.

"You cut me to the quick, Cap'n. I speaks nothing but me heart at all times." he said apologetically, hoping to defuse the situation a bit.

Amelia rolled her eyes as he spoke, noticing that Mr. Hawkins was still moving about the shrouds as freely as he wanted. That would never do.

"And, um, by the way, isn't that _your _cabin boy aimlessly footling about in those shrouds?" she said acidly.

"Yeah, it-oh…: Silver sighed, forcing another apologetic smile. "A momentary aberration, Cap'n. Soon to be addressed! Jimbo!"

Amelia didn't stick around to listen to Silver further address the boy, moving back toward where Arrow stood.

"Another successful launch, Captain." Arrow smiled, his gaze locked on the Etherium ahead.

"Aye, it was," she paused, glancing around to make sure Doppler was still away. "But our dear Doctor seemed to have suffered quite a bit of bad luck over the last few minutes or so."

"Well, it was his first time aboard a ship…" Arrow chuckled.

"Yes, well, it's good to know that we will have some comic relief aboard this voyage." Amelia smirked, turning on her heel towards her stateroom. "You have the bridge, Mr. Arrow. Inform me of any mishaps."

"Aye, Captain."

XXXXXX

Delbert sighed, scrubbing the last of the mucus from his hair. He had crawled his way out of his spacesuit, peeled off his sticky clothes, and taken a quick shower to scrub and rinse the clumps of mucus from his fur.

"Of all the rotten luck…" he groaned, drying his head quickly before turning to the sticky mess sitting in the corner.

His spacesuit was ruined, to say the least. Mucus had seeped into every crevice and corner, rending the joints stiff and crusty. He was better off tossing the whole thing into space rather than trying to spend the rest of the voyage cleaning it. It truly had become a waste of money, and it bothered him that he had only got to use it for about an hour in actual space before it was ruined.

He let out a long sigh, kneeling down in front of the suit and covering it with the giant plastic bag that Mr. Arrow had brought him a moment ago. How stupid Captain Amelia must think he is… Falling onto his face, colliding with the wall, getting blasted by an _Orcus Galaticus…_ He was like a walking punching bag on this ship. His most basic instincts were telling him to simply give up and stay out of everyone's way for the remainder of the voyage… and yet a tiny voice in the back of his mind was telling him that perhaps he ought to put his best foot forward, prove to everyone that he was a valuable asset.

Yes, perhaps that was the best plan of action. Prove to Captain Amelia and Mr. Arrow that he was more than a bumbling idiot, that his many years of astrophysical studies could be of some use to them. Who knows? Perhaps it would be his astrophysical knowledge, combined with Captain Amelia's spacing knowledge, that saved them all from some kind of certain doom.

He could only hope.

_**A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter coming soon!**_


	6. Chapter 6: Disaster

After the near brawl on deck, Jim had elected to keep clear of Scroop. Part of that included doing the ridiculous, menial tasks that Silver put him up to, no matter how exhausting they were. He definitely hadn't boarded this ship with the intention of working his butt off, but this was the position the Captain had put him in.

Speaking of the Captain, she hadn't spoken to him much since they set sail two weeks ago. Jim had been tasked with bringing her tea each morning, so beyond the usual "thank you", there wasn't any conversation. He thought she might need him more often, especially since he was the only one who could open the map… but he'd seen Doc headed towards her stateroom a few times. Doc had seen the map several times before they left Montressor, so maybe he had just been telling the Captain where to go rather than calling Jim in every single time they needed to check their course.

He shrugged as he walked down to the crew's quarters, more than ready to pass out in his hammock.

XXXXXX

Delbert poked his head out of his cabin, listening carefully as he slowly stepped out. The ship was mostly silent, as he expected it to be at 2am. After two weeks on this ship, his body was still not exactly comfortable enough with the gentle rocking to allow him to power down for a few hours, resulting in his insomnia. He knew it wouldn't help to simply lay in bed wide awake until morning, so he decided to resort to what helped the most back home… Stargazing. He walked silently up onto the main deck, looking around just in case someone saw him. He wasn't entirely sure if he was allowed to be out and about at this hour, the Captain hadn't exactly made that clear. He had been able to stay out of her way so far, and didn't need to bring any attention to himself. But, he reminded himself, he was the financier. And what harm could he possibly cause by simply staring at the stars for a few hours? He slowly passed the galley, glancing at the warm light spilling up from the stairs.

"Good evening, Doc!"

Delbert nearly jumped out of his skin, crying out in surprise as he tumbled to the deck in a shaking heap. When he finally pulled himself back together, he sat up and gave Mr. Silver an uneasy smile. Dusting himself off, he addressed the man, his face warm with embarrassment.

"Oh, hello Mr. Silver."

"Apologies, Doc. Didn't mean ta scare ya like that." Silver chuckled, wiping his brow with the bandana in his pocket.

Delbert noticed Silver's change in attire, something more like what he'd seen him in when they first met. It struck him as a bit odd, but then he realized that Silver couldn't possibly wear and apron all day every day. Forcing himself to calm his erratic heartbeat, Delbert slid his hands into his pockets, lightly fingering the telescope and pen in his right one.

"I-It's fine, Mr. Silver. So, um… out for a stroll?"

Silver nodded, taking a long look around the deck.

"Aye, it's my watch tonight. Took a quick snack break down below, these nights can get borin'."

"Yes, I… I can imagine. Where um… Where is Jim?"

"Jimbo? Ah, I sent 'im to bed. Poor lad looked plum tuckered out after the work I had 'im doin'." Silver chuckled, gesturing over towards the stairs that led down to the crew's sleeping quarters. "Gotta keep the boy outta trouble, ya know?"

"True…" Delbert smiled, scratching the back of his neck.

They stood silent for a moment, before Silver raised an eyebrow at Delbert who was obviously trying to come up with a reason to slip away.

"What about you, Doc? Awful late to be wanderin' about the ship..."

Delbert coughed, his right hand gripping his telescope just a bit too tight as he pulled it out to show Silver. Why did it have to be Mr. Silver on watch tonight? He wouldn't say he didn't trust Mr. Silver, just that he was a bit put off by him. He only hoped he wasn't the gossiping sort. The last thing he needed was word of his little excursion getting back to Mr. Arrow or Captain Amelia… He could only imagine what they would think.

"I um… Just some l-late night observations and such." he chuckled uneasily.

Silver narrowed his eyes, giving Delbert a quick once over that felt like it lasted an eternity. After what felt like years, a slow smile spread over his lips and he tipped his hat to Delbert.

"Have fun with that then, Doc." he grinned, turning and walking off.

"Er...ah… you as well." Delbert muttered, letting out a sigh of relief when Silver had finally gone.

XXXXXX

She truly had the most magnificent ship in the fleet, Amelia decided. Gingerly running her fingertips along the mast, she reveled in the smooth cool feel of it. This was the time she loved the most, when it was just she and her ship, in the silence of the Etherium. It was early morning, the gentle purple and deep blues of the sky around her slowly melting away to a soft orange ombre as the Etherium awoke.

She had slept fine, despite Arrow's insistence that waking up this early was not normal. She simply wanted to spend a few minutes alone with her ship before anyone else aboard began their day. This was the feeling she had tried to convey to her parents many times, when they asked what appeal being a captain could possibly have for her. This feeling of absolute freedom, yet absolute control over her destiny… It was what dreams were made of. It was what kept her going, despite the obstacles. She wouldn't trade the life of a spacer for anything.

She made her way to the bow, her ears perking and her eyes narrowing at the sight of a lone shoe peeking out from behind the foremast. Mr. Silver should have ended his shift an hour ago… No one should've been on deck but her. Slowing her steps slightly, she climbed up the stairs as not to alert whoever it was with her footsteps. She found it much more enjoyable to catch them in the middle of whatever they were doing, scaring the living daylights out of them when they spun around to find her silently watching them.

But as she rounded the foremast, she could only raise an eyebrow at the snoring Canid slumped against it. His notebook lay opened on his lap, the quill he'd been using dangling dangerously from one hand. His telescope lay atop the notebook, occasionally rolling from one page to the other as the Doctor's breathing shifted the book. Amelia couldn't fight the smile that made its way over her lips, a mildly amused chuckle slipping free as she watched him doze.

Her heart nearly exploded from her chest as she felt someone's breath on the back of her neck. Her ears flattened against her head, her body tensed in fight-or-flight as she spun around… only to nearly collide with Arrow's chest before realizing it was him.

He chuckled at the surprised yet irritated look on her face. Small victories such as this were always fun for him. Especially since Amelia took such pride in her ability to detect someone behind her long before they realized she knew.

"Good morning, Captain." he whispered, as not to wake the Doctor. "It seems you have located our wayward astrophysicist."

Amelia let out a breath, still a bit flustered.

"How in the Etherium you manage to be the only creature that can sneak up on me will forever be a mystery." she muttered, reaching up to remove her slightly askew hat. She held it behind her back as she spoke. "And yes, it seems he lost his way to his cabin in the middle of the night."

"Lost his way. Of course." Arrow smirked, glancing over towards the crew's quarters, where he heard the unmistakable shuffling sounds of their crew beginning their chores. Amelia noticed as well, watching them groggily appear from below decks and throw some very sloppy salutes her way.

"Aghnf! Ugh..."

Both Amelia and Arrow turned at the odd grunting, a tiny amused smirk on Amelia's lips as she watched Delbert jolt awake, rubbing his eyes furiously as his glasses flew from the bridge of his nose and skidded across the deck to directly in front of her.

Delbert blinked, squinting in the bright light of morning. Had he slept here all night? Perhaps he really had been exhausted. Oh well, he should probably get back to his cabin before he was discovered. He yawned, stretching his arms over his head before he began patting the deck around him, obviously searching for his glasses. He grunted, getting to his hands and knees as he crawled around, using his hands to try and locate them. When he finally did, he put them back into place on his nose. The world shifted into focus, and his heart nearly stopped when he recognized the sleek black boots directly in front of him. His eyes slowly trailed upwards, past her legs, up her torso... until they met Amelia's amused yet fiery gaze.

"Captain!" he exclaimed, quickly getting to his feet. His face burned a bright crimson as he struggled to cover his obvious shock. "I-I u-um..e-er…"

"Calm yourself, Doctor." Arrow said gently from behind Amelia, raising an eyebrow at the flustered Canid. "Was there a problem with your cabin to where you felt the need to sleep here? Because-"

"N-No, of...of course not." Delbert interjected sheepishly, tugging at his collar, trying his best to avoid looking at the Captain. He could practically feel the judgement radiating from her and it made him feel ten times smaller. "I um… I s-suppose I was a bit er… spacesick last night. I c-came out to um…"

Delbert's voice faded away as he fully registered the reactions he was receiving from Amelia and Arrow. Arrow was giving him an amused smile, his hard eyes full of barely contained laughter. Delbert inwardly winced, realizing that Mr. Arrow was fully enjoying his embarrassment.

Finally risking at glance at the silent Captain at Mr. Arrow's side, Delbert felt his chest tighten. Her posture hadn't changed, her arms still tucked behind her back, but her eyes had glazed over slightly. She looked as if she wasn't even paying attention to what he'd been saying, and he realized that her attention was actually on the sounds of the crew working behind her. He watched her expressive ears as they subtly twitched in the direction of each different sound, and he found himself a bit impressed at how she could be staring dead at him while also still aware of everything happening on her ship.

"Well, Doctor, may I suggest taking a brisk walk around the ship at night? Then perhaps you will be able to remain in bed." she said quickly, breaking the awkward silence between them all. "Now, if you've finished, kindly gather your belongings and return to your cabin. Mr. Arrow and I require your presence in my stateroom this morning to discuss our route."

She fixed him with a stern stare, her gaze not wavering as she placed her hat snugly back on her head.

"I'm assuming you'll need starcharts of some sort for that…?"

Delbert blinked, his cheeks flushing as he realized that she was effectively dismissing him.

"Ah… aye, Captain."

XXXXXX

Arrow watched the dejected Doctor gather up his things and hurry off, feeling a bit sorry for the man. He just could not win on this voyage, could he?

"That was a bit harsh, don't you think, Captain?"

"I'm not sure how that could've been misconstrued as harsh, Mr. Arrow." Amelia blinked, turning to face him. "I simply treated him the same I would've treated anyone else who had decided to sleep on my deck."

"It wasn't as if he fell asleep on purpose, Amelia." Arrow said, lowering his voice as he addressed her by her first name.

"...I see no point in continuing this discussion. The man should've done as the rest of us did; take sleeping pills."

Arrow sighed, slowly shaking his head at his captain's lack of sympathy. He understood her position, but also understood the Doctor's train of thought. He had only done with any sleepless astrophysicist would do, turn to the stars for comfort. It seemed that Amelia had forgotten the many times Arrow had been called to her dorm room at the Academy before sunrise because her roommate had reported her missing. Thankfully, he knew her well enough even then to know exactly where she had disappeared to.

"_Amelia, I cannot keep climbing up here to drag you back into bed. I'm getting too old for this."_

_Amelia smiled, her eyes still locked on the slowly fading stars in the Etherium above her head. She shifted herself on the edge of the roof, making room for Arrow as he hoisted himself up next to her, sounded a bit winded._

"_You're only two years older than me, Arrow."_

"_True, but I am still your senior officer here at the dorm."_

"_You're my supervisor," Amelia deadpanned, giving him a sly smirk. _

"_Again, true." Arrow chuckled, before sighing and looking up into the sky. "But really, Amelia. What's the matter now? This is the third time I've had to come get you this week. The headmaster is getting worried."_

_Amelia shrugged, pulling her knees up to her chest silently._

"_I'm... not sure. It's just a bit hard to sleep, what with our final evaluations coming up, I suppose."_

"_Ah, yes. The root of the problem. Although," he chuckled. "I don't see why you're so worried." _

"_Arrow, our final evaluations are what defines the speed of our careers after graduation." Amelia stared at him incredulously. "One cannot simply become the captain of a ship without a stellar evaluation at the end if the semester. I-"_

"_What I meant was," he interrupted suddenly. "I don't see why you specifically are worried. You've always had excellent evaluations. You've been at the top of your class almost every semester since you enrolled. You've aced enough training missions to practically teach them yourself. So,I'm a bit puzzled as to why you, of all people, are losing sleep over something like this."_

_Amelia stared at him for a moment, then turned back to the sky as she realized he was right. She had an almost absolute guarantee of success here. Why was she so bothered? As long as she didn't suddenly change her behavior or spontaneously forget everything she has learned so far, she would be just fine. _

"_...This is why you were chosen as a supervisor and not me." she smiled softly as she rested her head against his shoulder._

_Arrow simply chuckled in response. They sat there for what felt like hours, until Arrow heard a familiar rumble lacing her oddly even breathing. He glanced down to find her fast asleep against him, her mouth slightly open as she slept. He smiled, scooping her up in his large arms and carrying her back to her room to catch a few hours of actual sleep._

XXXXXX

Yes, his formidable captain must have forgotten about that night, and other nights where he found her fast asleep on the rooftop of her dorm. That was the only explanation as to why she was being so hard on poor Doctor Doppler, assuming he'd deliberately chosen to collapse on the deck.

Amelia walked towards her stateroom, her chin lifted as she tried to convey her usual air of confidence. She knew Arrow was right, she hadn't even tried to understand Doctor Doppler's predicament, mainly because she wasn't all that keen on letting someone sleep on her deck like some kind of… well, she didn't know what. While she did understand his apparent insomnia, she too had suffered a bit on her first few voyages, that didn't mean she was going to simply glaze over such behavior.

XXXXXX

Delbert walked up to the Captain's stateroom, his stomach doing flips as he realized he was about to sit directly in front of the last person he wanted to see right then. He clutched the satchel holding his charts at his side, glancing down at his free hand to make sure it still tightly held his quill and pencils. He'd had enough bad luck with her, he needed to be prepared for once. Not only had she caught him out of his cabin, she'd found him absolutely passed out on the deck of the ship. The absolute embarrassment that had flooded his body was enough to render him a shaking mess as he hurried off to his cabin.

He'd actually considered faking space sickness to avoid meeting with her, but realized it wouldn't help his standing with her to miraculously overcome his illness the next day when he forgot to continue his charade.

So he'd taken several deep breaths to calm himself, gathered his charts and writing utensils, and quickly hurried to the galley to grab Jim. But...

"Where is Mr. Hawkins?"

Delbert bit his lip, his body tensing at the sound of her voice behind him as he entered her stateroom and turned to close the door. He turned around, chuckling nervously. Amelia was seated at her desk, Mr. Arrow standing at her side as he usually was when Delbert was called in.

"He u-um… You see, er…H-He wasn't in the galley. N-Neither was um… Mr. Silver. I… I left a note."

Amelia rolled her eyes, already irritable due to the fact that she'd just gotten word that the documents she'd signed for a separate voyage before they left had been lost. And now this bumbling astrophysicist hadn't followed her orders, and had shown up without the only one aboard this ship who was able to open the map.

"Perhaps out joyriding, Captain." Mr. Arrow said quietly, causing Amelia's frown to deepen.

"Hm. No matter, we shall proceed without him. Have a seat."

Delbert blinked, then hurried to the chair across from her and sat, setting his satchel down on the floor next to him. He pulled out the charts they'd been mapping from, cursing how much his hands were trembling. Amelia raised an eyebrow as she took the charts from him, opening one and laying it out on her desk.

"Now, if we-"

Suddenly, the ship lurched sideways, throwing Delbert from his chair, Arrow to the floor, and Amelia backwards against the window.

"What the devil was that?!" Amelia shouted as she pulled herself out of her chair, ignoring the ache she felt in her lower back.

Arrow hurriedly got to his feet, moving to Amelia who gave him a short nod, indicating that she was alright. He glanced down at the Doctor, who was obviously trying to gather his spilled writing utensils from the floor. He shoved them back in his bag, shakily standing to his feet and turning to Amelia, who had already started towards the door.

"It...It almost felt like a…"

Before he could finish, Captain Amelia and Mr. Arrow had rushed out and up to the bridge. Delbert could hear the confused cries of the crew, and went to follow… But not before tripping over his satchel's strap and face planting onto the floor. Sighing, he pulled himself up and followed, coming up to the observation deck when his mind registered what his eyes were telling him.

"Good heavens," he pulled out his telescope, his hands trembling out of sheer panic. "It's gone supernova!"

He had only read about stars going supernova and saw them from his observatory… never had he been so close to one. It was a beautiful sight, but an exceedingly dangerous one. The magillas themselves were enough to throw everyone off of their feet.

"Evasive action, Mr. Turnbuckle!"

"Aye, Captain!"

"All hands, fasten your lifelines!" Arrow hurried around the main deck, barking orders at the crew as they tied their lifelines around themselves. Amelia took a look at the navigational dashboard, her eyes wide and her muscles taught with adrenaline. There had to be some sort of reading on what was happening around them, anything that would tell her how to get them out of it. Finding nothing, she slammed her open palm down on the dashboard and grunted.

"Doctor, I could use your assistance here!"

Delbert looked over at her, his heart jumping a bit at the prospect of finally proving himself useful. She was staring down at the navigational dashboard, obviously trying to pull an escape plan out of the information it was relaying to her. Swallowing past the sudden lump in his throat, he hurried to her side, nearly slamming into her but thankfully managing not to.

"Yes, Captain?"

"These magillas are going to tear us apart if we cannot get out of their range. I don't want to burn out our thrusters and there isn't enough extra solar energy to power our sails to go any faster than we already are." she turned to him, her eyebrow raised for a moment before steeling herself as yet another wave hit the ship. Delbert braced himself as well, gripping the dashboard.

When the wave passed, Amelia grunted once before turning back to Delbert.

"Well? Any ideas?"

Delbert blinked, realizing this was his chance. His chance to be the key to their survival, to prove himself as more than a bumbling Canid who just so happened to have a degree in astrophysics.

"W-Well, we co-"

Suddenly a large shadow fell over them, forcing them both to look up and confront the large meteor that was threatening to blow the Legacy to pieces.

Delbert glanced around for anything that might help their situation, fear gripping his heart when he saw that the laser cannons below the bridge weren't affecting the meteor at all. He watched the crew run towards the other side of the ship in sheer panic, many of them glancing towards the longboat bay in search of escape. He looked to the far right at the bowsprit, to where Jim and Silver were holding on desperately to the rigging there.

"Jim!" he cried, knowing full well that his cry would go unheard. But he had to at least show concern… even if it didn't help.

Amelia huffed, searching her vast spacing intellect to figure out whether to force the ship backwards or strafe to the side. Either option wasn't a guaranteed success, especially since their power supplies were meant to last them the rest of the journey. Using too much at once could result in them being stranded before ever reaching Treasure Planet. There was no other option… they would have to abandon ship.

Delbert glanced over at her, a bit amazed at the fiery determination that still shone in her eyes despite their predicament. He could practically see the calculations running through her mind, and it was almost mesmerizing. His heart leapt in his chest when she suddenly turned to face him, her hand raised in the direction of the longboat bay.

"Doctor, it seems we will have to-"

"Captain! The star!"

Amelia glanced up at Mr. Onus in the crow's nest, following his outstretched arm to the meteor, which was suddenly and mysteriously drifting away from them. She raised an eyebrow, walking towards the edge of bridge, narrowing her eyes at the oddly shaped star.

Delbert's jaw dropped in fearful awe as he joined her, realizing almost immediately what exactly they were about to deal with.

"It's devolving into a… a black hole!"

_**A/N: I have no idea how this chapter got this long XD but I hope everyone likes it!**_


	7. Chapter 7: The Last Resort

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long. I graduate from my 2 year college in a few days and it's been crazy hectic getting everything sorted. I've also gotten really into some awesome Bruce/Natasha (from the Avengers lol) fanfics so if things seem a little off, that's why! XD I hope you enjoy this chapter! Oh yeah and there isn't much character background besides Delbert and Amelia in this one because I wanna delve into those more in future chapters.**

Amelia squinted at the devolving star, her eyes narrowing further as her mind frantically searched for an escape from the endless void in front of them. She glanced up into the sails, irritated at the slightly dimmer glow that emanated from them, indicating that they were already using far more of their reserves than she originally wanted to.

They wouldn't be powering their way out of this one. Not unless they miraculously found another power source.

Delbert gulped, his eyes locked on the black hole currently trying to suck them into oblivion. His vision began to blur a bit, the adrenaline and fear he felt causing a black muck to creep in until all he could focus on was the void. He heard a frustrated grunt at his side, and turned to the fiery Captain standing next to him.

His vision cleared with such speed that he felt even more unsteady on his feet than before. He felt his stomach drop and his jaw went a bit slack as his mind finally registered who he was staring at. Amelia's red tresses seemed to have caught aflame in the harsh light of the star, fluttering about her head like the rays of a shining sun. Her ruby red lips had dropped into a slight frown, the only visible clue as to how irritated she currently was. But even in her severe irritation, Delbert had to admit she was… gorgeous. He swallowed thickly, his heart beginning to pound harder the longer he stared at her. His cardiac palpitations only increased the speed of their erratic rhythm when she glanced over at him and raised one perfect eyebrow at his dumbfounded expression. Delbert could read the confusion in those vibrant emerald eyes, he felt that same confusion deep in the pit of his stomach.

Why was this happening now? This was perhaps the worst time for a realization such as this, but he couldn't seem to shake himself from his sudden emotional stupor long enough to school his face back to its normal frantic state. The stereotypical man in him had taken over his mind and was prompting him to indulge in her appearance and admire her as simply a woman… who was currently snapping her fingers in his face.

"Doctor...? Doctor Doppler?" Amelia sighed, taking note of the idiotic grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Honestly, this man.

She hated resorting to violence when he had not wronged her, but the moment called for it. She had no plan of escape from the rapidly approaching black hole, and she had a feeling she would be needing Doctor Doppler's advice if they were to escape. And in order for him to give her advice, he needed to stop staring at her like a bloody 15-year-old schoolboy with a crush on his teacher.

"Doctor!" she shouted, giving him a swift slap across the face, steeling her features so no one could see the tiny flash of regret she felt the minute he came out of his daze and stared at her in shock. It was uncalled for, she knew that. But necessary. "If you'd like to kindly return to reality, Doctor, we have a bit of a situation on our hands, in case you forgot."

Delbert blinked rapidly, his face turning a very deep crimson and his mouth going dry as he struggled to speak.

"Er...I...i-it...u-uh…" he sighed, giving up on whatever he'd been about to say and simply managing to nod once at her. He hoped she understood what he meant, because he for sure wouldn't be able to explain himself right now.

Thankfully, he didn't have to worry about whether or not she caught the meaning in his nod, because Mr. Turnbuckle seemed to be fighting the Legacy's steering wheel and desperately needed help.

"We're bein' pulled in!" he groaned, grunting with the effort of fighting the current.

Amelia rushed to the wheel that had flung Mr. Turnbuckle across the bridge, grabbing it and forcefully course-correcting.

"Oh no you don't!"

Delbert took this moment to fully bring himself back to reality, turning away from the bridge and hurrying to the navigational dashboard to try and be of some use after acting like an idiot only moments ago. He searched it for any clue as to how they might escape their almost inevitable demise, and almost cursed when he found none. The Legacy continued to careen towards the black hole in no particular pattern or direction. The entire crew, including Delbert, were thrown to the deck when a wave from the black hole hit the ship with the solidity of a brick wall. Ignoring the sudden pounding in his head, Delbert got back to his feet.

"Blast these waves! They're so deucedly erratic!" Amelia grunted as she continued to clutch the wheel, grimacing and bracing herself for the next wave that would hit.

Delbert looked down at the dashboard again, noticing a pattern that somehow gave him hope.

"No, Captain! They're not erratic at all!" he shouted, his eyes widening as he relayed what he discovered. Surely there had to be something she could do with this information. "There'll be one more in precisely 47.2 seconds, followed by the biggest magilla of them all!"

And of course, there was.

"Brilliant, Doctor! We'll ride that last magilla out of here!"

Delbert merely blinked at her for a moment before opening his mouth to question the logic behind her conclusion. But he was left staring silently as she shouted down to Mr. Arrow who had recaptured her attention.

"All sails secured, Captain!" he saluted, hunching down against the fierce winds.

"Good man!" she shouted back, grinning wildly. "Now, release them immediately!"

Arrow stared for a moment in shock. Had she hit her head after the first wave? He knew Amelia better than anyone on this ship, knew not to question her... but even he had a moment's pause. What would reopening the solar sails do besides burn more holes into them? But he saw the blazing fire in Amelia's eyes, and Arrow decided to simply trust his best friend and do as she ordered. Blindly following her orders had worked in the past, why would he stop trusting her now?

"Aye...Captain." he almost shrugged before turning to the crewmen descending the rigging. "You heard her men! Unfurl those sails!"

"What?"

"But we just finished-"

"-Tyin' em down!"

"Make up your bloomin' minds!"

Arrow simply ignored their cries of confusion and protest as he climbed the rigging on the other side of the ship, knowing it would go much quicker if he got up there and helped. He sighed, he would need to have a word with Amelia after this about relaying her plans to him. He hoisted himself up among the sails, getting his bearings before hurrying to untie the ropes.

Amelia chewed the inside of her lip as she waited for the next wave, running through a mental checklist of anything she might need to take care of before putting her plan into motion. The canons that had come loose slid around the deck haphazardly, and she mentally winced as one of the crew narrowly avoided being crushed by one.

Mr. Arrow was up among the sails, assisting the crew up there with unfurling the sails that would aid in their escape. His stony gaze met Amelia's, and he gave her a gentle smile before disappearing behind an already unfurled sail to reach the next one. Mr. Scroop followed closely behind Mr. Arrow, apparently to help undo the last of the ropes before they descended back onto the deck. Amelia sighed briefly. Perhaps she'd been too harsh on Mr. Scroop. He seemed to be much more cooperative than she had first thought. Perhaps he could eventually be trusted.

Delbert swallowed hard, running his eyes over the dashboard several times as he tracked each wave that battered the ship. He kept his head low, gripping the dashboard to keep himself upright as yet another wave hit them, more powerful than the last.

He turned his head so said wave wouldn't hit his face straight on, just in time to see Amelia be thrown into the mast behind her as the force of the wave caught her off guard and she lost her grip on the wheel.

She let out a pained cry as her back made contact, despite her efforts to simply grit her teeth and regain control of her ship. Her bottom hit the deck moments after her spine collided with the mast, and she fought back a groan as she struggled to blink away the white spots that clouded her vision. She felt oddly numb, her mind suddenly craving nothing more than the sweet release of sleep. Just a few moments of rest was all she needed.

Just a few...

"Captain!" Delbert cried, almost without realizing he'd done it. He reached out to her, unsure of what purpose there was in the action but feeling led to do so anyway.

The concern in Delbert's voice brought reality crashing down, and Amelia swallowed past the nausea she felt as she shakily got to her feet and made her way back to the wheel.

"I'm fine, Doctor. I need your eyes on the hole." she said stiffly, waving him off. "Track the magillas."

Delbert watched her for a moment, suddenly taking note of the lack of a lifeline around both he and Amelia's waists. But it wasn't himself he was most concerned about.

"C-Captain shouldn't you h-have…?"

Her sharp green eyes caught him off guard as they met his, her gaze hardening as his sentence trailed off. Sighing inwardly, he simply nodded once before turning back towards the navigational dashboard.

"A-Aye, Captain." he nearly grunted.

Amelia huffed when he finally turned away, allowing herself a brief moment to take stock of what was happening around her as she regained her bearings.

Doctor Doppler was working furiously at the dashboard, keeping a close eye on the timings of each magilla, calling out for everyone to brace themselves when another was about to hit.

The crew members that had been up among the sails had already dropped back down, doing what they could to avoid the sizzling rocks that fell onto the ship. Amelia quietly wondered where Arrow had gotten off to and if he were alright. But she knew him well, and knew that if something had gone wrong, she would've known.

Mr. Silver was down on the main deck with Mr. Hawkins, running about just the same as the rest of the crew.

"Mr. Hawkins!" she waited for the boy to cease his scrambling and turn to her. "Make sure all lifelines are secured, good and tight!"

The boy squared his shoulders, obviously pleased to finally have a unique way to assist. Amelia kept her eyes trained on the situation ahead, but had to force herself to remain stoic when Mr. Hawkins called out that all lifelines were secured. The look of determined pride on his face was endearing to say the least.

Amelia acknowledged him, then returned her gaze to the black hole. It seemed even more menacing and terrifying the closer they got.

"Captain!" Delbert shouted over the rushing wind that continued to batter the ship. "The last wave! Here it comes!"

Amelia stiffened, her grip on the wheel tightening as she braced herself. This was it. If they could pull this off, if the solar sails could capture the light energy from this last magilla , they would survive. But if not…

She shook her head to clear it of the negative thoughts. No time to wallow in dark what-ifs… They would make it. She was sure of it. Taking a deep breath, Amelia called out to her crew.

"Hold on to your lifelines, gents! It's gonna be a bumpy ride!"

Again, Delbert realized that neither he nor the Captain were tethered to anything. They could both very easily be knocked off of the ship and out into the Etherium when this last wave hit. He turned to her as he took a length of rope he found tied to the bridge in his hand, and was thoroughly surprised to find her already staring back at him. He glanced at her waist where her lifeline should have been, returning his gaze back to her eyes quickly. She gave him a knowing look and he felt his chest tighten. She knew what could happen, but her crew came first and she last.

One life in exchange for many.

He opened his mouth to say something to her...anything… but felt unable to when suddenly the space around the ship grew quiet. An uneasy lightheadedness encompassed his entire being and he fought back sudden wave of nausea. He turned to where the black hole had once been, realizing with a flood of terror that the black hole had begun to swallow the Legacy and its inhabitants whole.

Darkness creeped over the ship, and Delbert shut his eyes tightly to avoid watching what the void might do to the bodies of those aboard the ship. He was going to die via black hole. It was not the most pleasant way to go, he could tell that already from the dull ache in the back of his head that was quickly growing in intensity. He wondered if the Captain was as panicked and frightened as he was. He didn't think she would be. He wanted to open his eyes and see her one more time, try to memorize her features in case the worst did occur and she was lost to them in their escape. But he couldn't do it. It was almost as if he wasn't allowed to see her. His eyes refused to open, and he merely sank to his knees and squeezed his eyes closed even tighter. He began to see colorful spots in the darkness behind his eyelids, and he thought it fitting that the color that stood out most in the haze was emerald green.

Jim held onto Silver tightly, the only thing running through his mind was concern for his mother. She would have been right. She was losing him to a natural disaster that could only be encountered in space. Would she be alright without him? Without Doc? She would be alone again. Jim wished he could do something, wished he could send her a letter or something, anything to let her know he was thinking of her in these last moments…

Silver clutched the mast as tightly as his cyborg hand would allow. He hunched over the boy, shielding him from anything that might lurch out of the darkness. It was the first time he felt this protective over someone who wasn't holding a treasure chest. But Jim had saved his life. He owed it to the boy, and to the boy's mother who he has heard s decent amount about and now had a deep respect for, to at least attempt to protect James Hawkins the best he could in their last moments.

Amelia watched the ship and its inhabitants prepare themselves for either death of sudden salvation, and she felt her heart pound in her chest as she silently counted down in her head. Only a few more seconds…

She prayed Doctor Doppler knew what he was doing, timing was everything.

_Seven more seconds…_

Her eyes began to flutter shut as the darkness finally reached her.

_Six more seconds…_

She wondered where Arrow had gone. He hadn't checked in with her since unfurling the sails. She would much rather prefer spending her last moments with him at her side, but she supposed it was too late for that now. Especially since it was becoming harder to breathe as they fell further into the hole.

_Five seconds…_

Her grip loosened on the wheel as the artificial gravity shut off, and she contemplated simply letting herself float away as her feet began leaving the deck.

_Four…_

A mind numbing silence invaded her and she let her thoughts drift lazily through her head.

_Three…_

How long had they been falling? What did black holes do to matter that was sucked in? Would it hurt? What would happen afterwards?

_Two…_

A sort of peace encompassed her. If she were to perish at the hands of a black hole, that was fine. Her best friend and crew would survive, and that was enough for her to be at peace with whatever happened. She let go of the wheel and felt herself begin to drift.

_One._

At the last minute, a shaky hand wrapped around her wrist tightly, pulling her back to the deck before a deafening boom sounded and all thoughts of peace left her.

_**A/N: **_**Hola! Okay so this chapter was a bit of a pain in the butt to write. So if the order of events seems wonky or the lack of Jim, Arrow, and Silver is annoying, I sowwy. It is a Delbert/Amelia fic, so I tried to sort of focus on them a bit more. Hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	8. Chapter 8: Stay

_**A/N: I'M SORRY I'VE BEEN GONE SO LONG OMG BUT IM KINDA BACK I HOPE YOU ENJOY! (There is a decent amount of sad weirdness in this one, because I'm strange. And apparently it's 'very long'. You're welcome.)**_

Amelia's eyes opened at the feel of a hand around her wrist, shocked when she found the Doctor staring right back at her, not Arrow. The darkness encompassing the ship dulled the brown in his concerned eyes, but the worry written all over his face was still evident. His hand moved away from her as his cheeks burned a deep crimson, and she came to realize, with some surprise, that he was the one who had pulled her from a cold and empty death.

"Doctor?"

He opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by the rushing of the Legacy's solar sails filling with the raw energy from the last magilla. Delbert disappeared from her view as he was thrown off into a pile of ropes, the force of the Legacy escaping the black hole enough to send him soaring. Amelia screwed her eyes shut, her hands gripping the base of the wheel as tightly as she could. After what felt like an eternity, the sheer unbridled force finally dwindled, and Amelia finally opened her eyes to hear the cheers from her crew floating up from the deck below. She stood on surprisingly steady feet, holding tightly onto the wheel and quickly steering the Legacy back on course. The crew continued to cheer, relieved to have made it out alive and excited to continue their journey.

Amelia shook herself lightly as she took a step back from the wheel, headed towards the edge of the bridge to take stock of her crew. She walked past Doctor Doppler, who was struggling to untangle himself from the ropes that had semi-cushioned his collision only moments ago. She silently wondered if she should thank him for pulling her back onto the deck while they were inside the black hole, but decided against it. He was intelligent, she shouldn't need to spell out her thankfulness for him.

"Captain! Captain, that- oh, my goodness! That was absolutely- That was the most-" Delbert stammered and stuttered, thoroughly impressed with the plan that she had been able to concoct, and even more impressed that it had worked. Admiral Johnson had been right, Captain Amelia Smollet was the best in her field.

"Oh tish tosh." she cut his word vomit short, fighting back a smirk at the stunned look on his face that she saw out of her peripheral. She supposed he was owed a least a bit of kindness, he did have a significant hand in aiding their escape. "Actually, Doctor, your astronomical advice was most helpful."

She allowed a small smile to show on her face, before stepping away from him right as he began fumbling through a response.

"Well uh, thank you. Thank you very much." Delbert smiled, his confidence rising slightly. He knew he could be of some help on this voyage! Finally, he had proven himself to be more than a bumbling academic who doubled as comedic relief. Perhaps he was cut out for this spacing thing, even if just a little. "Well, I have a lot of help to offer anatomically."

Or not.

"Amanamonically."

Oh no.

"As-Astronomically."

Oh lord.

Delbert's defeated facepalm was a severe physical understatement to the utter embarrassment he felt right then. So much for being cut out for this.

XXXXXX

Amelia fought back a grin as her sensitive ears caught Delbert's verbal downward spiral, the only indication that she had heard anything being the slight positive lift in her voice when she finally addressed her crew.

"Well, I must congratulate you, Mr. Silver. It seems your cabin boy did a bang-up job with those lifelines."

She watched in mild amusement as Silver and the boy playfully nudged each other, and she took note of the lack of brooding written all over Mr. Hawkins' face. He seemed proud of the good job he'd done, and she agreed that he had much to be proud of. If not for him, her crew could have been lost to the Etherium, never to be seen again. And although this crew was not her favorite by any means, they were necessary to keep the Legacy running as stellar as possible.

"All hands accounted for, Mr. Arrow?" she called, expecting her formidable First Mate to appear from below decks or from behind her and give a report. When no such report came, she felt her heartbeat quicken slightly in fear. She took a breath, forcing herself to remain as calm as she could, realizing that perhaps he hadn't heard her. So she called again. "Mr. Arrow…?"

Amelia's chest tightened when it was Scroop coming towards her, not the man she was expecting. She glanced down at the familiar object held in his lobster-like appendages. It looked like… no. It couldn't be. Not him. No, no, no…

But as badly as she wanted it not to be so, the solemn look on Scroop's face all but confirmed her worst nightmare. The man she had depended on all these years, the man she'd cared for more than anyone else in her miserable, difficult life… The man she thought of as so much more important than just her best friend...

"I'm afraid… Mr. Arrow has been lost…"

He was dead.

Amelia's heart sank into her boots, her hands shaking as she took Arrow's hat from Scroop. She ran her eyes over the hat, her throat closing as she felt sobs struggling to force themselves out. It frightened her how hard it was hitting her. Usually, when she lost a member of her crew, she was saddened, but able to keep the sadness to a minimum and keep going. But this time… this was different. She managed to swallow past the lump in her throat, her saddened gaze meeting Scroop's once again as he dropped the final devastating bomb.

"His lifeline was not secured."

That boy. It was that boy's fault. But of course it was. How could she be so stupid? Letting a child be in charge of such a monumental task? She had put the lives of her crew, into the hands of a teenager. It was as if she had been asking for something to go wrong. So, of course, something did. Of course, she had lost the only person she actually cared for on this voyage.

"No! I checked them all!" Jim exclaimed in a panic, his heart beating frantically in his chest. He ran over to the mast where all the other lifelines were still connected, his stomach dropping when he saw one missing. The one that had been wrapped around Mr. Arrow. Why did it have to be his that had slipped free? Why the second-highest-ranking person on the ship? ...Why did it have to be Jim who messed it all up? "I… I did. I checked them all. They were secure… I swear!"

Amelia saw the regret in the boy's eyes, but couldn't bring herself to stop being angry with him. James feeling badly about being indirectly involved in Arrow's death wouldn't bring him back. Nothing would. She narrowed her eyes at him, wanting nothing more than for him to leave her presence. The boy was quickly becoming a bothersome reminder that she truly was alone on this voyage. There was no one she could trust… Not really.

Jim looked at Silver, who could do nothing more than give him a sorrowful look in response. Silver waited until the boy looked away, then looked over at Scroop, who suddenly looked more proud of himself than solemn. Silver screwed his face into a displeased frown, realizing that not only was Mr. Arrow's death not an accident, it was also not Jim's fault… But he could never tell the boy that. Not without compromising his crew and their plan. So he stayed silent as the Captain spoke.

"Mr. Arrow was a…Ahem." Amelia cleared her throat, the sobs she had been trying to keep at bay desperately making an effort to try and escape. But she couldn't break down in front of her crew, and had to memorialize his death. But she wouldn't cry in front of them, not even for Arrow. "...fine spacer. Finer than most of us could ever hope to be."

The impact of Mr. Arrow's death finally sunk in, and Delbert felt his heart drop in sorrow. He hadn't known the man well but had a deep respect for his rank and position. Captain Amelia had held Mr. Arrow at such high regard, that it was nearly impossible for anyone else not to do the same. Hearing the deep hurt in the Captain's voice, the struggle she was having against the sobs she needed to let out… it hurt Delbert to his core, and he truly wished there was something he could do to ease her pain. It was...frightening to see how heartbroken she was already, even with the facade she was putting on.

"But he knew the risks, as do we all." Amelia took a breath, clutching Arrow's hat in one hand as she turned to retreat to her stateroom. The break she heard in her own voice only saddened her further, and it took all the strength she had left to school her features back to their reserved state. "Resume your posts. We carry on."

Jim watched her go in stunned silence, before staring at the deck and balling his hands into fists at his sides. He glanced around him, the judgemental glances of the crew stabbing into his mind like hot knives of guilt before it became too much and he ran off.

XXXXXX

"Captain, I am so sorry, I-"

Delbert's words felt like lava as they reached her ears, burning into her mind and leaving a fiery trail that only added to her sorrow. She kept her eyes glued to her stateroom door, preventing him from seeing the tears already welling up in her eyes. Delbert had walked over as soon as she'd reached the top of the stairs, trying to offer some kind of condolence. She knew he must've felt the need to apologize, it was his voyage after all, but she had no time or tolerance for sympathetic niceties that he felt obligated to offer. She knew he didn't care. There wasn't a soul on this ship who did. Not anymore.

"Return to your post, Doctor," she said quietly, inwardly cursing the way her voice broke yet again. She expected him to try and continue his condolences, but was mildly surprised when he sighed and muttered a quick,

"Aye, Captain."

Before turning on his heel and walking away. Both relieved and mildly confused, Amelia pushed her door open and closed it behind her so quietly that even she could barely hear the click of the lock.

Once inside her stateroom, the only thing she could do was stare blankly down at the hat as she pulled off her gloves and dropped them to the floor, before running her thumbs over the fabric of Arrow's hat. His very essence seemed to emanate from it, and she felt her hands begin to tremble as she struggled to remember what he looked like, what he sounded like…

"Curse you, Arrow!" she cried, frustrated, throwing the hat across the room before crumbling to her knees in a sobbing heap.

Those words were the only discernible ones for the next half hour or so, the rest of the sounds she made being too muffled and angry to be understood by even herself. Every memory flew through her mind like comets, leaving trails of regret and anger in their wake. How dare he be taken away from her this way? She depended on him… She needed him. And Arrow had known that. Why was it that every single time tragedy struck, it was those she cared for most that were ripped out of her life?

First, it was her mother, hit by a stray laser shot one evening while on her way home. Her mother had been the kindest, gentlest, most understanding woman in the world, and yet a freak accident just so happened to take her life. She had been returning home after a quick trip to the grocery store, grabbing some last-minute ingredients for her family's dinner that evening. She had promised little Amelia that she was finally old enough to help her cook, and had bought some special child-sized cooking utensils just for her. Amelia would be so excited. She was only a block away from their home when she heard yelling in the house on the other side of the street. Frightened, she quickened her pace, nearly running past the house as she heard laser shots ring out. She screamed in fear, alerting a man in a different house, who opened his door just in time to lock eyes with her before the stray shot flew from the window of the first house and hit her in the back. He hurried out to her and dragged her away from the sidewalk to safety near his front door, calling the authorities immediately afterward. She was proclaimed dead only minutes after the fighting couple was arrested and the ambulance arrived. That had shattered five-year-old Amelia's heart. The incident had been what prompted Amelia's father to insist on her toughening up. The first time she'd shown interest in becoming a spacer, he'd had a long talk with her, asking what appeal such a profession could have. But after they lost her mother, he'd taken her fairytale books, replacing them with space-faring tales. He was the only father in the school district that was suddenly _encouraging_ his daughter to join the Navy.

"_The world is not as safe as we thought it was. You'll need to take your head out of the clouds and learn some survival skills if you want to make it."_

Then it was her older brother, Andrew. He'd moved out of their home at 18 years old, trying to make it on his own, only to end up an unemployed alcoholic when he let his peers convince him to begin gambling. The day after his 23rd birthday, he had sent a letter home explaining that he was coming back to try and get into college and get his life on track… but two days before his arrival, he was found dead behind a hotel on the planet Hawoel, which was famous for its casinos. His blood-alcohol level was 0.4%, well above what it should have been for a recovering alcoholic. The story the police had relayed to Amelia and her father was that Andrew had been out with some friends, celebrating one last time before he went home and back to school. His friends claimed that he had been the one to insist on 'one more drink', and they stupidly believed him when he claimed he was able to get back to his apartment on his own. They had no idea he would die that night. Word reached Amelia and her father three days later, one day after he was expected back home. Amelia was nine years old at the time.

Her father became a social recluse after that, the loss of his wife and oldest child sending him into a deep depression. The only way Amelia could escape the depressive atmosphere was to finally join the Navy at only seventeen years old. The last time her father had left the house was the day she shipped out. That was the last time she had seen him smile, as well. He died right before her own 23rd birthday, but she didn't attend the funeral. In her eyes, he had been dead long before then.

With each loss, she had become less and less emotional. At her mother's funeral, she cried like the child she was: loud and pained. At her brother's funeral, she cried like an adult would: nearly silent and controlled. In her room aboard the _Dauntless _on her first voyage, when she received word of her father's death, she only silently cried for a few minutes… before throwing herself headfirst into her work. But now, all the emotion she thought she'd had a hold on seemed to have flooded her mind and body. She was truly alone, once and for all. No mother, no father, no brother, and now no best friend.

It was Amelia Smollet against the world, a world that still refused to see her as the strong woman she was, simply because she was in a profession dominated by men.

Trembling like a leaf, she eventually crawled through the broken glass from her destroyed windows towards her desk. She hardly noticed the large shards ripping past the fabric of her clothes and tearing through her skin, leaving spotty trails of blood behind her as she went. The shards that just so happened to keep from piercing her skin through her clothes left dark bruises and scars in various places, sending waves of aching pain through her that she had already grown numb to. She climbed into her desk chair, sobbing and dry heaving rapidly, fighting against both emotional pain and the newly discovered physical one from her stinging wounds. She stared at the blood speckling the palms of her hands and the tears in her clothes, and merely whimpered, too weak to do anything else. Her father would be ashamed of her, beaten and bloody over something like this.

Defeated and finally worn out, she closed her eyes, letting the lightheadedness from both her gasping sobs and the loss of blood guide her into the comforting embrace of unconsciousness.

XXXXXX

Delbert stood outside the Captain's stateroom, his heart going about a million miles an hour. He had spent the last 45 minutes or so pacing outside, trying to decide if he should check on her or not. All he had heard through the thick door was the heartbreaking sound of Captain Amelia trying to keep her desperate sobbing silent...and failing to do so. But every time he went to knock on the door, he would hear something that would stop him. Whether it was a shaky whimper, a trembling indiscernible word, or simply just the shuffling of her adjusting her position, it would be enough to stop him from interrupting her grieving process.

He'd seen Jim trudge down below decks to bed, and considered going to check on the boy. But he decided against it, a voice in the back of his mind telling him that the Captain might need him more than Jim would.

He chewed his lip as he stood in front of the door, wondering for the fiftieth time why he, of all people, felt so led to check on her. Was it because he felt responsible for her First Mate's death? Possibly. Was it because he knew what it was like to lose a loved one? Perhaps. Was it because he knew he was attracted to her?...Maybe. Or maybe it was because she reminded him of Sarah, who had grieved her husband's death, even after he ran off and left her to raise their son alone. The circumstances were not the same, but both women seemed to grieve in a similar way… tragically.

And if she was anything like Sarah, the Captain shouldn't be alone right now.

Gathering all the courage he had in his body, he knocked on the door lightly, as not to startle her.

"C-Captain?"

Hearing no response, he hesitated before knocking again, a bit stronger. Still no response. A wave of worry flooded him, thinking back to when young Jim showed up on the doorstep of the Doppler mansion at three in the morning, a few days after hearing of Liam's death.

_"Jim? What are you-?"_

_"Mom locked herself in her room! She's crying again but she won't let me in this time! She just keeps apologizing and I'm really scared!"_

_"Okay, okay, calm down Jim. How long had she been in there when you left?"_

_"I-I… I don't know, fifteen minutes maybe?"_

_"Alright, um...go wake up Delilah, I'll be out in a second."_

_"B-But… my Mom, she…"_

_"Your mother will be fine, Jim, I promise. Just help me get to her."_

Delbert remembered being absolutely terrified when he finally got her to open the bedroom door, and remembered being beyond relieved when she fell into his arms and told him how alone she felt. He'd had to remind her that he was always there for both she and Jim, and that she wouldn't be doing this by herself. He remembered watching Jim jump into Sarah's arms, his small body trembling as he begged her not to do that again.

Perhaps that was what the Captain needed right now. Reassurance. At least, he hoped so. Otherwise, he was about to make a huge mistake. He pushed against the door, startled when a loud thunk sounded on the other side of it. He slowly pushed it open, to find bits of the locking mechanism on the floor. Apparently, the supernova star had blown out far more than just her windows.

"Captain?" He called softly, his eyes struggling to adjust to the lack of light in her stateroom. He squinted, finally able to make out what looked like the Captain at her desk. "M-My apologies, ma'am. I u-um… I didn't mean to intrude… I just-"

His eyes finally adjusted, and his voice caught in his throat as he realized what he was looking at. Captain Amelia, curled up in her chair, one shoulder of her jacket hanging low, exposing her arm. And worst of all, she was unconscious. One would think that she was simply asleep, exhausted from the day, if not for the strange way her palms weren't touching any part of her body and the faint sharp scent of blood and salty tears in the air.

"C-Captain Amelia?" he stepped fully into the room, the sound of crunching glass beneath his shoes making him wince as he feared he would startle her awake. As he ventured closer, he felt his stomach drop at the contrast in character he saw. He almost wished his eyes had never adjusted to the darkness as he got close enough to notice the tears in her uniform, the long angry cuts on her palms, and the long tracks left by tears of grief on her pale face. His heart rate spiked as he realized just how bad of a shape she was in.

This wasn't Captain Amelia sporting a few occupational injuries, this was a heartbroken Amelia Smollet… Battered, bruised, bleeding, and alone.

Delbert forgot his position, forgot their lack of any sort of relationship, forgot her rank as a captain, and kneeled down in front of her chair to examine her more closely. He reached over to the lamp on her desk and flicked it on, forcing himself to remain calm as he took note of what he hoped to find in a first aid kit somewhere.

Chewing his lip, he slowly opened the desk drawer closest to him, relieved to find first aid supplies in it. He thanked whatever entity was listening that he had found it so quickly. He pulled out some antiseptic cream, a bottle of rubbing alcohol, some bandages, and a pair of tweezers. Taking a deep breath, he slowly flipped one palm up towards the light so he could see the tiny shards of glass still sticking out of it. He took slow, even breaths as he used the tweezers to remove the glass in both her palm and her arm, his eyes flickering to her face every so often to make sure he hadn't woken her. Thankfully, she was just as comatose as before, her mouth dropping open as her head slowly lolled to the side as he lightly tugged the rest of her right arm out of the ripped sleeve it was in. He quickly dabbed rubbing alcohol on the scrapes, gently wiping away any blood before applying antiseptic cream to both the scrapes and the bruises. He winced when a quiet whine slipped from her, and he wrapped her arm in a bandage with a speed and finesse that he never knew he had. A slightly louder groan escaped her and he stiffened, waiting for her brow to unfurrow so he could finish and leave without her knowing he was ever there. He wasn't sure how well she would take being tended to… especially by him. It wasn't that he felt she didn't like him, she seemed to find him slightly more tolerable than any of the other crew members on the ship… But still, he didn't think she would enjoy waking up to find herself in such a position.

His blood nearly froze in his veins when her eyes fluttered open, a dull lifeless forest green that held none of the fire he was used to. Her eyes floated around the room lazily, until they moved down and settled on his face. She squinted weakly, her brow furrowing in what looked like confusion. Delbert wanted to take his hands away, to make the situation look even more innocent than it already was, but couldn't manage to do it. His hands stayed right where they were, one on her semi-bandaged arm, the other clutching the remaining bandage roll.

"D-Doctor?" Amelia's voice came out just above a whisper, free from any semblance of confidence and strength it usually had. Her sleep-clouded vision finally cleared, her head still pounding from all the sobbing. "What are you… how did you get… why are you in...my stateroom?"

Delbert swallowed thickly, quickly bandaging the rest of her arm and tying it off before explaining himself.

"W-Well I um...e-er… I h-heard you i-in here and u-um… I saw you and I...I suppose I took it upon myself to arrest, I m-mean… assist." His fumbled words quieted as he watched her slowly raise her bandaged arm, inspecting his handiwork. She weakly raised an eyebrow at him, the green in her eyes beginning to regain their intensity.

"... did you plan on tending to the other arm as well?" She asked, returning her arm to its previous position, shifting in the chair to offer him access to the still aching left arm. When he offered no response besides a dumbfounded 'um', she rolled her eyes and swallowed past the nausea that rose in her throat to try and reach for the supplies herself. "Nevermind, Doctor. Thank you for what you've done. You may leave."

Delbert blinked and continued to stare at her. Was she really willing to let him finish tending to her? How delirious was she? He bit his lip, deciding to be commanding for once in his life, even if it backfired.

"No, Captain, allow me." He managed a small smile. "I am a doctor after all."

"...Not a medical doctor." She gave him a smile as well, less condescending and more playful than anything he'd ever received from her, her usual urge to belittle him dwindling for now. Perhaps she had been wrong, perhaps someone aboard this ship did still care.

In Delbert's mind, he chalked her sudden lack of authoritative berating up to the delirium she was undoubtedly still feeling.

"But a doctor just the same." He chuckled softly as he helped her shrug out of her jacket, a relieved sigh slipping from his lips at the last second.

XXXXXX

Several minutes later, they both sat on a recently-swept section of the floor in front of her desk, Amelia's boots removed, her pant legs pushed up above her knees to reveal her bruised and scraped kneecaps. Her legs rested across Delbert's lap, her back against her desk. Her eyes were closed, her face twitching occasionally in pain as he finished bandaging. She listened to him hum softly as he worked, thankful that he had managed not to bumble his way through the process. When he wasn't humming, he was telling her stories from his life on Montressor, which were honestly quite refreshing.

"And I suppose that was when Sarah and I realized that the Benbow didn't need to be open _every _weekend." Delbert chuckled, tying off the last bandage and inspecting it one last time.

Amelia chuckled softly along with him, watching him gingerly remove her legs from his lap as to not agitate the wounds beneath the bandages. She winced anyway, despite her best efforts.

"That...That should hold for now." Delbert said, setting the supplies he'd been using on top of her desk behind them.

Amelia quietly inspected the bandages on her hands, arms, and legs, and chuckled lightly.

"Perhaps you should consider switching your profession, Doctor."

"Oh, I don't know about that. I've only learned how to clean wounds from Jim falling off of his solar surfer so much. The Etherium is my true passion." He smiled sheepishly.

"Nice to meet a man who already knows everything he wants out of life."

"Yes, well… maybe not everything..." He said softly, watching her gently run a hand through her hair, his eyes locked on the way each silky strand left her fingers as she returned her hand to her lap. His face burned and he shook himself when Amelia raised an eyebrow at him, a tiny confused smirk on her lips. "Do… do you need some assistance getting to your feet?"

"...What I really need is a decent cup of tea and some bloody painkillers. I think the bruises feel worse than the cuts, if I'm being honest." She sighed, shifting in her spot on the floor.

Delbert chuckled uneasily, then got to his feet and disappeared behind the desk, his eyes lighting up with a solution. Amelia craned her neck to see what he was doing, but found that she couldn't see much from the angle she was at. All she could do was listen to the sound of Delbert rummaging through her desk drawers, and she was too worn out to protest against it. A few moments passed, and she prepared to ask him what exactly he was searching for when he suddenly made a soft sound of discovery. A small bottle of extra strength painkillers appeared in her lap, and she raised an eyebrow at him as he peered over the edge of the desk at her, obviously proud that he'd managed to find one of the two things on her list. She chuckled, reaching a hand up in his direction. He looked confused as he rounded the corner of the desk and stared at her hand, his mouth opening slightly as he thought of a polite way to ask what exactly she wanted him to do. Amelia let out a long sigh, silently wondering if there was a man alive who didn't need to have things spelled out for them every once in a while.

"Help me to my feet and I'll help you cross off the second item on my list." she said in a mildly exasperated tone.

His cheeks flushed, his mouth turning into a small 'o' as he gently took her hand in his and helped her to her feet.

But even with Delbert being as careful and slow with her as possible, Amelia had misjudged exactly how weak she had become. As soon as she was standing on her own two feet, her vision clouded, her mind spun, and the ground began rushing up to greet her. The pain coursing through her body had flooded her mind all at once, and it had become too much. Thankfully, she felt two arms wrap around her torso to hold her up, and she leaned back into the embrace as waves of nausea forced her to close her eyes to keep the room from spinning.

"Perhaps I could… ugh… direct you… to the tea… from my desk." she groaned, allowing Delbert to half-walk/half-drag her back to her desk chair and place her in it.

"T-That's probably b-best… " he chuckled uneasily, waiting patiently for her to reopen her eyes.

It took a few tense moments, but finally her gaze lazily met his and she waved half-heartedly towards a cabinet in the corner off to the side. Delbert blinked, then hurried off to the cabinet and hastily made her a cup of tea. He hadn't bothered to ask if she wanted sugar in it, he knew she didn't want any. Jim had taken to telling him this in passing, the day Silver had added the task of delivering her breakfast every morning to the boy's list of daily chores.

Amelia watched him for a few seconds, before the dim light from the neighboring stars outside her destroyed windows, combined with the harsh light from the lamp on her desk became too much and she closed her eyes. She listened to the Doctor shuffling around, when the shuffling got significantly closer until it stopped altogether. She opened her eyes slowly, only slightly alarmed to see how dark the room suddenly was. She raised an eyebrow in the direction of her desk lamp, then looked up at Delbert, who's hand was slowly backing away from it. Their eyes met, and he nearly dropped the cup of tea he held tightly in his suddenly sweaty palms.

"I u-um…It...ah..." he coughed nervously, quickly abandoning his previous sentence as he hastily set the cup and saucer down before moving behind her chair and pushing her up to her desk. "H-Here's your tea. Careful...it...it's hot."

Amelia quietly took the tea in her hands, the bandages protecting her palms from the heat of the cup. Delbert kneeled beside her chair, quietly watching her sip the tea, waiting for her reaction. She set the tea back on the saucer on her desk, a long slow sigh slipping from her lips. When she finally spoke again, he wasn't prepared for what came out barely above a whisper, her eyes glued to her lap.

"Why couldn't he have simply stayed on the bridge?" Her bandaged hands slowly curled into fists, despite the waves of blinding pain that ran through her as she did so.

"C-Captain, I know it isn't my place to say but…" Delbert cleared his throat, his chest aching when he saw the tears in her eyes. "If he would have stayed on the bridge… We might not have made it. We… we needed those sails to escape the black hole. Mr. Arrow knew that."

"The crew could have handled unfurling the sails." she said tightly, a single tear rolling down her cheek in spite of how hard she was fighting to keep it at bay. She took a shaky breath, wiping the tear away forcefully before placing her trembling fist in her lap. "Arrow did not have to go."

"Mr. Arrow w-wanted to help us escape…" Delbert said softly, flashbacks from the many times he'd had to comfort Sarah running through his mind. "He didn't leave you here on purpose. I'm sure he would have been much happier if he were still here...with you. But, he died doing the most noble thing a man in the Navy can do... trying to save his captain."

"What would you know about the Navy?" Amelia stared at him, her vision clouded with tears as she struggled to swallow past the sudden lump in her throat.

"I… I'll admit, I don't know much. But I do know something about honor… and there's nothing more honorable than risking your life to save someone else's. Especially someone you really care about. And… Mr. Arrow really cared about you."

She hated to admit it, but Doctor Doppler was right about it all. Arrow had given his life in the hopes that she would survive; that she would continue on this journey of a lifetime and find the treasure that no spacer had found before. He believed in her spacing skills to get them to the loot of a thousand worlds, he never doubted her for a second. He had not known that when he'd boarded the Legacy back on Crescentia he would be facing death weeks later... but since when had he backed down from a little danger and peril? Arrow and Amelia had faced death more often in the last several years than most people face in their entire lifetimes, but that had never stopped them. They'd had to save each other's lives on several occasions, and Amelia thought that she had finally come to terms with the idea that a day was coming where a voyage would end not so well for both of them. She had only hoped that it would be she who would perish.

"_**I've done nearly everything I've wanted to do as a spacer, Arrow, and I have no family left to miss me."**_

_**Amelia sat cross-legged on the floor of her stateroom, a hot cup of tea in her hands. She and Arrow's lunch sat on the picnic blanket beneath them, their plates empty and speckled with a few crumbs from their dessert. They had just received the casualty report from the Dauntless, and had ended up on the subject of their own deaths due to the fact that the Dauntless' captain had traded his life for the lives of his crew.**_

"_**Amelia, think about it. I have plenty of years behind me. It wouldn't be a great loss if I were the one hit by a laser pistol or blasted by a cannonball. You on the other hand…" Arrow trailed off, setting his own cup of tea down on the floor.**_

"_**It would be a great loss to me if you were killed. Myself and anyone who has ever known you would grieve." Amelia said firmly, staring at him with an intensity he had seen many times before.**_

"_**Amelia…" he sighed, rolling his eyes. "You can't expect me to-"**_

"_**You have to promise me, Arrow." Amelia interrupted, her tone causing him to meet her gaze again and see the pleading in her eyes. "Promise me that if it ever comes down to myself or you, you will let me trade my life for yours."**_

_**Arrow stared at her, unsure of whether to comply with her wishes as she wanted, or go with his heart and tell her no. She was the single most important person in his life, she had to understand that. His parents had also died, long before he had ever met Amelia. He'd been an only child, the type to keep to himself. Loneliness was not a foreign concept to him, but that did not mean that he would choose to be without his best friend if he could help it.**_

"_**...You and I both know that I can't make that promise."**_

Amelia bit her lip to keep from choking on the sob that was threatening to escape her. Her hands began to tremble and her eyes burned with tears as she forced the sob back into the depths of her soul. Arrow had always been true to his word, even when it inconvenienced her.

He had not promised to put his life above hers, even when she had practically begged him to, and he had stayed true to that. She had not been there when Arrow gave his life, but she could only imagine that it had come down to either him or her… and he had chosen her.

"How _dare _he make that choice without me?" she spat, fighting a losing battle between her misplaced anger and the torrents of both guilt and grief that were taking her over.

"I-I'm sorry, Captain I… I'm not sure I...understand." Delbert said, scratching the back of his neck, trying his best to stay calm as he sensed the approaching storm of emotions she was struggling to hold back.

But nothing could have prepared him for what she said next.

"Of course you don't understand, you...you..." Amelia couldn't stop herself even if she tried. Something about that look in his eyes, the concern he was showing, like he genuinely cared about her… It was too much.

"You would never understand! No one will!" she practically hissed, roughly shoving him from her side onto his bottom, pointing her finger in his face as she forced herself to stand over him. "He wasn't your only friend! He wasn't the one who knew you better than you knew yourself! You don't understand because your only concern is when do we reach that cursed Flint's Trove! Arrow's death is your fault!"

Amelia knew she was being unfair. She knew what she was saying wasn't true. Arrow's death was not the Doctor's fault in the least. He had not known that they would lose Arrow when he booked the voyage. He hadn't run over and loosened Arrow's lifeline. But Amelia needed someone to blame. Someone had to be her punching bag.

"If you hadn't shown up on our ship in your ridiculous spacesuit, wandering aimlessly, constantly getting in the way and making a fool of yourself, he might still be here! You have no business sailing! Why couldn't it have been you or one of those other slack-jawed good-for-nothings out there? Why did it have to be the one man actually worth something on this ship who died?"

Amelia was practically yelling at poor Delbert, who had moved into a standing position again and could do nothing more than wince and recoil every time her finger made contact with his chest as she tried to drive her insults home.

But he didn't leave her.

He didn't leave when she finally finished lashing out at him, tears streaming down her face. He didn't leave when her legs gave out and she fell to the ground. He didn't leave when she weakly tried to push him away when he scooped her into his arms, listening to her sob and feeling her tremble so hard he feared she would faint again. He didn't leave when she roughly dug her fingers into his chest, his skin tingling where bruises were trying to form. He didn't leave when she began muttering Arrow's name between sobs, her voice broken in a way that made him tighten his arms around her comfortingly. He didn't leave when she eventually quieted to sniffles and whimpers, too exhausted to do much more than half-heartedly apologize for her behavior. He didn't leave when she suddenly fell asleep in his arms, his chin resting atop her head.

He knew he probably should've left the minute she fell asleep, but from the way she wrapped her arms around him the minute he tried to move, he knew she would never forgive him if he did.

So he stayed.

_**A/N: OMG THIS CHAPTER REALLY WAS LONG lol I hope you enjoyed! Again I am so sorry I've been gone for so long. I won't promise more updates super soon because school starts next week, but I am working on it! Please leave a review!**_


	9. Chapter 9: Friend

_**A/N: (I realize I've been gone for way too long I sowwy college is awful okay) I hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter! I know it was super long, but I wanted to post something to make up for my really long absence. I'm also writing an Avengers Brutasha fic with some pretty long chapters, so I got the two fics mixed up. I doubt future chapters will be 7,000 words long, but who knows? Anyway, enjoy!**_

Morning arrived with the subtlety of a brick careening through a stained glass window. Amelia's eyes opened reluctantly, her body feeling heavy yet oddly comfortable. As she sat up, it took her a few moments to realize that she hadn't slept at her desk as she had expected to do. Instead, she was nestled under the plush covers in her private quarters, the double doors cracked just enough to let a stream of sunlight in from her stateroom. Groaning softly at the dull ache she felt all over her body, she dragged her legs out from underneath the covers and sat at the edge of the bed. She reached up, running a slightly throbbing hand through her hair, wincing at how the small action caused her aching head to ache even more, and returned her hand to her lap. She looked down at herself, a bit surprised to see that she was still wearing her uniform minus her jacket and boots. When had she removed them? And why were her limbs wrapped in bandages…? Where… where was...

It was then that the realization hit her, the events from the previous night slowly fading back into her memory.

There had been a black hole. No, before that there had been an exploding star. It had devolved into a black hole, and they had fallen into it. No...that wasn't right... they had escaped it. Yes, with a combination of her spacing skills and Doctor Doppler's astrophysical expertise, everyone had escaped mostly unharmed. Everyone except... Arrow. Yes, that was correct. Arrow was dead, his body presumably floating through the black hole, which had to be far away from them now.

Surprisingly, Arrow's unfortunate demise didn't seem to have the same disastrous impact on her psyche as it had the night before, and she supposed that had a lot to do with the Doctor. Never before had a man shown such tenderness and care towards her, especially a man who had been treated with… well, less than the respect owed to the financier of the voyage. And yet there he had been, right when she needed someone like him.

She glanced towards her nightstand as the sunbeam reflected off of something sitting on it and caught her eye. Her eyes focused, and she tilted her head in mild confusion at the steaming cup of tea resting on the nightstand. Reaching over, she picked up the cup, sighing contentedly when she recognized the warm scent. It had been quite some time since Arrow had prepared this particular tea for her, it was one of her more expensive teas that were reserved for special occasions. He'd bring it out after successful voyages, long tiresome meetings... whenever he saw that weariness in her eyes that she tried so hard to keep hidden. How the Doctor managed to see that same weariness and select this particular tea was beyond her.

There was a part of her, albeit a small one, who was almost offended that it was not Arrow who had prepared the tea. It felt like a form of sacrilege, as if he were trying to replace Arrow by doing everything Arrow would have done. Clean her wounds, comfort her in her weak moments, ensure that she got a good night's sleep after such a traumatic event… But Amelia knew better. They hadn't known each other for very long, but even she knew that the Doctor was not capable of going behind her back to try and become Arrow.

She paused mid-sip when her ears picked up the slightest sound of someone moving about her stateroom, causing her to stand to her feet and walk silently towards the door. She fought back her initial fight-or-flight reaction in order to steady her heartrate, reminding herself that no one on this ship would be idiotic enough to enter her stateroom without permission. Well, no one except for the man who had done so last night.

"Doctor? ...You're still here?"

Delbert spun around, nearly tripping over his own two feet at the sound of the Captain's voice. She stood in the doorway to her private quarters barefoot, wearing only the turtleneck she wore beneath her jacket and the still slightly shredded tan pants he'd seen when he'd removed her boots and jacket the night before. Her bandages were still in place, a pristine white due to the fact that he'd made a silent appearance while she was asleep to replace the old ones. He swallowed thickly as he took her appearance in, his cheeks flushing. He hadn't meant to still be in her stateroom when she awoke, but he supposed he had been so focused on his task of tidying up that he hadn't kept track of the time. It was too late to make a hasty exit now without tripping all over himself and looking even more like a fool.

"Um, g-good morning Captain. Er… yes. Yes I am." he smiled weakly, setting the cinged books and maps in his arms down on her desk. He noticed her gaze flickering around the room, taking in the neat pile of broken glass on the floor and the lack of general chaos that had been there when she'd collapsed from exhaustion. He knew he had probably crossed a boundary, but couldn't have gone back to his own cabin the previous night knowing she would run the risk of cutting herself all over again when she got up. His cleaning process had progressed from there.

_**His legs had fallen asleep just moments before she did, but he couldn't bring himself to shift position and disturb her. If anyone deserved a night of peaceful sleep, it was her. He was just glad that he was able to help facilitate said sleep.**_

_**And as much as he would like to be able to deny the warmth he felt in his chest, he knew he couldn't. He liked… no, relished… the feel of her in his arms. He reveled in the warmth of her arms as they tightened around his torso, the vibration of her occasional purrs giving him a swell of joy he never knew he could experience.**_

_**She had a very unique scent to her, a mix of lavender and cinnamon that evoked a feeling of 'home' within him. Almost without thinking, he gently buried his nose in her hair and let the scent wash over him, realizing that there wasn't a thing in the Etherium he wouldn't do just to feel this way again. To feel this… This feeling of just being with her... it felt right to him. He couldn't explain how. It just did. She felt as if she belonged in his arms, her head nestled right in the crook of his neck, her gentle breathing sending chills down his spine… she fit perfectly with him, and he silently prayed that he might one day get to experience this in a much less traumatic situation.**_

_**The hardwood floor eventually became too much for his aching lower body, and he took a moment to look over her frame before speaking softly, knowing she wouldn't hear him. **_

_**"I… I suppose I should get you to bed…" he said quietly, his cheeks burning as he gathered her into his arms.**_

_**He stumbled for a moment as he stood, and feared he would wake her, holding her tightly against himself as he regained his balance. Thankfully, she hardly even reacted beyond a soft groan. He let out a long sigh of relief, searching around the dark stateroom before walking cautiously to a pair of heavy double doors off to the far left of her desk. He pushed them open with his back, thoroughly relieved to find that it was unlocked, and that it was her private quarters. **_

_**Drawing back the comforter, he gently laid her down on the bed, ignoring the heat that radiated through his face when she let out a small moan at the action. He waited a moment, and when he realized she was still asleep, he let out a short breath before gathering the comforter in his hands. As he finished covering her up, his eyes locked onto her face as he gingerly kneeled down next to her bed. Her lips were slightly parted, each slow contented breath reassuring Delbert that he had done the right thing tonight. He shuddered to think what could have happened had he stayed away. She was strong, yes. But losing someone the way she had… it was enough to render even the most hardened of spacers to emotional wrecks. Not that he saw her as a wreck.**_

_**Even looking at her now, her face pale and the skin around her eyes red and puffy… he had nothing but respect for her. Even while grieving the loss of her dear friend, she had been prepared to grieve for a night and continue their voyage the next day. But as admirable as her decision may have been, Delbert knew it would have been wrong to allow her to grieve alone, especially considering the condition he'd found her in.**_

_**He didn't know much about her past. In fact, he didn't know anything about her past. He didn't know if she had parents or siblings… aunts or uncles or cousins… what if she was all alone? What if that was why she was so torn apart by Mr. Arrow's demise? What if he had been the only person left in her life that she could count on?**_

_**Delbert felt a wave of devastating guilt wash over him, and he sighed sadly. Of course it was his voyage that had inadvertently caused the death of such an upstanding officer… resulting in the heartbreak of such a captivating woman. While it was true that he hadn't had a hand in Arrow's actual death, it was indeed the voyage, that he had commissioned, that had dragged them all the way out to the farthest reaches of the galaxy where a star just so happened to be losing its mind.**_

_**"Mm…" Amelia groaned suddenly, rolling onto her side facing the double doors… and him. His heartbeat quickened, but he couldn't move away even if he wanted to. She was still fast asleep, the tiniest of smiles tugging at one corner of her lips, and Delbert smiled a bit as well. He hoped that smile meant she was dreaming of good things, perhaps even Arrow. She deserved some happiness right now, even if she could only access it in her dreams. Acting without thinking once more, he reached forward and gingerly tucked a stray lock of hair back behind her ear, smiling tenderly as she burrowed deeper under the plush comforter. She seemed so different now. So small and fragile… even though he knew she was anything but that. She was strong, resilient even. But even the strongest people had their moments of weakness, when they let down their guard and reverted back to an almost childlike nature. One that depended on others for comfort and security. Delbert thanked the heavens that he had been able to see this side of her, as awful as the circumstances were. For a few hours, she would be at peace. No longer tormented by the matters of reality, able to drift off for a time and forget it all.**_

_**His heart ached as he wished she could stay that way.**_

_**"I'm sorry, Ca-" he paused. An apology like this demanded that the titles of Doctor and Captain be pushed to the side for a while. **_

_**"I'm sorry… Amelia."**_

_**Her name tasted like pure sugar as it left his tongue, and he felt his heartbeat quicken at the realization. Dragging himself reluctantly back to reality, Delbert stood and backed away. She could wake up at any moment, it was probably not the best idea to be staring at her when she did. He turned, exited the room, and tugged the double doors closed behind him, not realizing that they had reopened slightly. **_

_**Turning back to the mess that had become her stateroom, he bit his lip and decided he would simply sweep up the glass. It was the least he could do. He knew she would still be sore in the morning, the last thing she would be in the mood for would be cleaning the chaotic nightmare that her stateroom had become.**_

He supposed he should blame his conscience for the verbal berating he was about to receive. He knew that that conscience of his would land him in hot water someday... But, surprisingly, the Captain didn't seem bothered or upset with him, just confused at his presence.

"I… I trust you noticed the tea I left you." he chuckled uneasily when she didn't respond for a few minutes, his hands in his pockets. "I… I assumed you would want something soothing this morning. My apologies if I...if I crossed any boundaries, I-"

"No, no… It's quite alright. Thank you... Doctor." Amelia's voice sounded strange to her, soft and bewildered. She cleared her throat before speaking again to try and regain her usual authoritative tone, irritated when it didn't help. "Have you been here all night?"

"Er...um…" Delbert blinked, glancing at her still damaged windows to see sunlight pouring through them. It was strange that he was only noticing it now. "Huh. I...suppose I have."

Amelia stared at him, her still throbbing head struggling to sort what exactly the Doctor's angle might be. When she couldn't come up with a malicious one that could possibly match the innocent nervousness he was radiating, she let out a short sigh and turned back towards her private quarters. "Excuse me a moment."

Delbert tried to respond, but found that his voice had quit on him. All he could do was nod and watch silently as the doors closed behind her, leaving him alone as he stared into space.

XXXXXX

After waiting for what felt like an eternity, Delbert spun around to find the Captain reemerging from her private quarters. She was wearing her usual attire, her bandages essentially covered. He hurriedly set the book he'd been flipping through back on her desk, embarrassed that she'd seen him going through something of hers. But if she had seen him and was upset, she didn't acknowledge it. She simply walked over to her desk, set her hat down on it, and leaned against it. There was a period of silence that felt much longer than it actually was, where all they did was avoid each other's eyes. Finally, Amelia ran a hand through her hair and spoke.

"Doctor, I suppose I should thank you." She said, rather softly with only a small semblance of the authoritative edge she usually spoke with . "For coming to my aid last night."

"Oh...um...you're welcome, Captain. I… I suppose my conscience had more to do with it than I did." He chuckled nervously.

"Yes well… then you must pass my thanks on to him as well." She gave him a small smile, deftly pushing herself off of the desk and into her chair, before gesturing vaguely to the chair across from her.

Delbert blinked and hesitantly sat in the other chair, smiling weakly as he quickly wiped his suddenly sweaty palms on his pant legs.

"Ah, I will make sure that I do."

When he finally gathered the courage to meet her gaze again, he was startled to see that her smile had faded. But before he could inquire as to what had caused her displeasure, she spoke.

"Doctor, I find myself in a state of utter confusion. And I will tell you now that that does not happen often." She said, leaning forward onto her desk to look at him more evenly.

"C-Confusion?" Delbert's cheeks felt warm, and he resisted the urge to cough or clean his glasses and give himself a second to recover.

"Yes. You see, on my ship, as you may already know… I tend to keep up a certain… facade, if you will. I demand respect. I do not show weakness, even when weakness is appropriate. Not many people I have met can say they have seen me as… out of character as you did."

"My-My apologies, Captain I… my intention was not to see you in an...unflattering light…" Delbert felt ill, as if his stomach had dropped through the floor and was spinning about the Etherium as he sat there.

"Oh, of that I am aware." She chuckled, relaxing just enough to smooth the fabric of one sleeve before returning her gaze to his.

Delbert chuckled as well, taking that moment to let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"But that was not the source of my confusion." She stated, raising one perfect eyebrow at him.

"I-It's not…?" Delbert swallowed, the intensity in her eyes making him feel very very small.

"No. My confusion stems from… well, I suppose I should simply ask." She paused briefly, organizing her thoughts before she continued. "Doctor, why did you feel led to come to my aid, even knowing the consequences of doing so?"

"U-Um…"

"And even after I had ordered you to return to your post."

"W-Well yes… but…"

"Yet you disobeyed a direct order. I'll admit that I am very curious to know the reasoning behind doing so." She raised an eyebrow, hoping he couldn't see the small twitch at the corner of her lips from the smile she was trying to keep at bay. Something about the idea of him risking her wrath to ensure that she was alright… it had conjured up a familiar warm tingling in her chest that had recently become quite welcome.

Delbert opened his mouth to respond, but quickly shut it when no sound came out. He cleared his throat, his voice still cracking when he finally responded.

"I… I assumed you would… n-need the assistance."

"Perhaps I was not clear enough." Amelia raised an eyebrow at him, reaching forward to adjust the pen that was slightly askew on her desk. "I'm curious as to why you specifically felt the need to come to my aid."

"...Permission to be completely honest with you, Captain?"

She was both flattered and a bit taken aback, but managed to hide her surprise and gesture for him to continue.

Delbert smiled a bit, taking a deep calming breath before he continued.

"I have seen w-what grief can do to someone. Up close. Jim...Jim's father left he and his mother Sarah when he was just a boy." He began, his eyes moving from her face as he recalled the day Liam had left.

_**"He's gone, Delbert!"**_

_**"Sarah? Who's gone? What's happening?"**_

_**"He left me and Jim! He's sailing away as we speak! Oh how am I going to take care of Jim now… a boy needs his father… what am I going to do…?"**_

"I suppose his fondness for traversing the stars outweighed the importance of his commitment to his family." Delbert said solemnly.

"One would think so, in that situation, with that outcome." Amelia said, her gaze locked on his face. It pained her to realize that she actually did understand this Liam's opinion. As a spacer herself, she knew what it felt like to crave the freedom that spacing allowed. She knew what it felt like to feel too landlocked, to feel as if she were wasting her time when she was anywhere but among the stars.

But even though she understood why the man had left, that did not make it right.

"N-Now don't get me wrong, Captain." Delbert said suddenly, his cheeks flushing when he looked up to find her already watching him. "L-Liam was a good man. Just not… prepared to be a father. He told me so the day Sarah found out she was pregnant."

"Even so, I trust that you were Mr. Hawkins' confidant during that time? I'm sure the boy blamed himself for his father's disappearance. I would imagine most children do." Amelia said, her voice a bit more gentle than she had intended. But the boundary of acquaintances had been crossed and obliterated the previous night; there was no point in trying to keep him at arm's length now when they both had memories of her sobbing herself to sleep in his arms.

"Most children do blame themselves when… when a parent abandons them… and Jim was no exception." He cleared his throat, surprised at how calm he was beginning to feel in her presence. "But by that time, Jim had grown up knowing he would have to fill his father's shoes one day. I suppose he knew that his father was growing distant. He didn't need much comforting… well, not much beyond the few times I'd had to remind him that Liam's decision was not his fault."

"Naturally. And what of his mother? Raising a son, especially on your own..." Amelia shook away the memories of her older brother, the recovering alcoholic who would never experience the future his mother and father had wanted for him. "I can only imagine how difficult it was."

"Difficult is perhaps not even enough to describe what she went through. Sarah has always had a very forgiving nature. It's both the best and worst part of her personality." Delbert chuckled bitterly. "She always held out this hope... this hope that Liam would come to his senses, that he would somehow find his way home and help her raise their son. But... I knew. I saw it in his eyes."

Delbert's voice sounded tight and stunted, and Amelia realized, with a bit of surprise, that Doctor Doppler was still bitter at this man for abandoning his dear friend and her troubled son. It was odd seeing the tightness of his features, the traces of darkness behind his eyes when he glanced up at her…

"This Liam, he was not fond of Mr. Hawkins?"

Delbert took off his glasses, gently cleaning them before placing them back on his nose as he spoke.

"I could never tell, if I'm being honest, Captain. He never told me if he felt contempt towards Jim. I suppose he was more uncomfortable with the boy's existence than anything. I would never tell Sarah but… I… I knew that if, or rather when, he left... he would be gone for good. Family… The concept of it at least, kept Liam confined to one planet for far longer than he was comfortable with. And once we got word of his death… I knew both Jim and Sarah would need me more than ever. It nearly tore Sarah apart..."

It was admirable, really. From what he was telling her, the Doctor had very willingly stepped into a very difficult position. He became the metaphorical rock for this Sarah... someone for her to share her burdens with, to talk to in her times of need, and to hold onto when all seemed hopeless.

Again, admirable. In her experiences in the Navy, she found it rare to find an officer willing to show both compassion and concern towards anyone, especially another officer as upstanding as herself. That had been what made Arrow so unique. Even with the constant reminders that attachments were of no use in the Navy, Arrow had kept his bond with Amelia very close to his heart and became the perfect fit to the gaping hole in her life, left behind by her now deceased family.

But now Arrow was gone. And from last night up until this moment, she had come to terms with the idea that she truly was alone in the world. Never again would she find someone, let alone another officer, who would fight at her side and come to her aid the way Arrow had. She had become content with the concept that, especially considering how unique an officer she was, she would never find a true friend that she could depend on the way she had depended on Arrow. In her mind, no one in the Navy would understand her that way. And she had been right. Even before they had left Crescentia, her circle of 'friends' was almost nonexistent. Word would reach the naval headquarters soon, but Amelia knew better than to hope that anyone within the Navy would show concern for her wellbeing. They would be more concerned with whether or not she would be fit to continue spacing.

But Doctor Doppler was not in the Navy. He was not an officer. He was not restrained by policies and protocol. He was clumsy. He was academic. He was bumbling. He was bothersome. He was sometimes annoyingly curious. He was also kind. He was caring. He was gentle. He was humorous. He was understanding. He was... he was wholly unlike anyone Amelia had ever met, both inside and outside the Royal Navy.

"You are a good man, Doctor." She said finally, meeting his gaze and giving him a small but genuine smile. "To step in when they needed you most."

She cleared her throat casually, straightening a bit and flicking a speck of lint from her desk.

"Rare to find a man that would do that."

"O-Oh well… I d-did my best. Sarah has always been a very dear friend, and I… I care for Jim as if he were my own."

"And yet, Doctor… Even with this all in mind, I find myself still perplexed as to why you felt led to come to _my_ aid as well." Amelia raised an eyebrow at him, the smile she was giving him barely hidden behind the perplexed frown she had planted firmly on her face.

"W-Well… um…" he tugged at his collar, which suddenly felt far too tight around his neck to be comfortable. "The um...the point I was trying to make was that... I b-believe everyone needs a… a friend when dealing with loss."

His eyes met hers again, the gentle shyness in them causing a swell of emotion to bubble up in her chest that she had to stifle as he finished. "Even you, Captain."

"Ah. I suppose there's some truth in that." She nodded slightly. "And I also suppose that you took it upon yourself to be that friend."

"I s-suppose so." Delbert swallowed thickly, unable to look away from her eyes as his cheeks burned.

"Even though I did not verbally ask for such a friend." Amelia said quizzically, the corner of her mouth twitching as she fought to keep herself from smiling.

"Ah… you would be c-correct, Captain." Delbert said lamely, realizing that perhaps he had made a mistake last night. But how could he have been wrong? He couldn't have just left her in the state she was in… no. He squared his shoulders slightly, prepared to stand by his own decisions, even if it upset her. Regardless of how she may be feeling about his forwardness, he would never regret what he had done. "But I do not regret staying, Captain."

He bit his tongue to keep from adding, "with you".

"Interesting." Amelia hummed, no longer able to mask the small flash of relief in her eyes. Perhaps she did have a friend aboard this ship after all. Perhaps the Doctor was more than just the financier.

A long silence passed between them, Delbert struggling to come up with something to say, while Amelia sorted through her own thoughts.

"Doctor, if we are to be...friends, as you put it…."

Delbert swallowed thickly as the silence was shattered, watching the Captain as she shifted in her chair and toyed with the quill on her desk.

"Er… Y-Yes, Captain?"

He was so focused on his own discomfort and concern, that he didn't even notice the subtle trembling of her fingers until after the quill slipped from her hand and landed on her desk with a soft clatter. Both of them jumped, their eyes meeting for a brief moment… only to shift away as their cheeks simultaneously tinted light pink. Amelia cleared her throat to clear the awkward atmosphere, silently wondering why her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest.

"If we are to be friends… I feel led to permit you the usage of my first name."

Delbert's eyes widened, a sheepish smile on his face.

"O-Oh, well, I'm honored, Cap-... I mean, Amelia." his cheeks burned a deep crimson, her name rolling off of his tongue, leaving the same sweet sensation that it had left the night before. "A-And um… you're welcome to use my first name as well."

"Hm… Delbert." Amelia smiled, humming softly as she tried his name for the first time. She chuckled, tapping her chin softly as she raised an eyebrow at him. "Doctor, I believe you have one of the most interesting names I have heard in quite a while."

If she hadn't been smiling at him that way, Delbert might have felt offended at her opinion. But since she _was _smiling at him, and because he could both hear and see the gentle teasing in her demeanor, all he could do was chuckle in response.

"I will… take that as a compliment, Amelia."

He couldn't get enough of saying her name.

"As you should, Delbert."

Judging from the brilliant smile she gave him, she felt the same about saying his.

XXXXXX

_**A/N: Next chapter coming soon! I'm honestly not sure what is happening with this chapter but I hope it was okay. I'm trying my best to get through finals, but two of my family members have surgeries this month so I might be busy taking care of them. I will try my best to get the next chapter out, and it'll be one where we get back to some of the things that happen in the movie again! I'm so glad you guys like the last two chapters, I know I went a bit off the rails. Anyway, leave a review and let me know what you think!**_


	10. Chapter 10: Mutiny in More Ways Than One

After a cup of tea and a few more minutes of small talk, Delbert pulled his watch out of his pocket and cleared his throat.

"Well..." he paused, sliding his watch back into his pocket.

Amelia raised an eyebrow as she watched him stand, taking a sip of her own tea. Delbert watched her for a moment, before mentally shaking himself. "I… I should probably return to my cabin. You know, before… before the rest of the crew wakes up."

Amelia calmly set her teacup back on its saucer and addressed him, a tiny smile on her lips. Their rather short time together had been quite enjoyable, a comfortable reprieve from the distress and panic she had been so absorbed in the night before. She had to admit, his presence, while originally not quite as welcome as it should have been, had quickly become something she felt she would look forward to being in for the remainder of the voyage.

"Yes, wouldn't want the rumor mill to catch you leaving my stateroom at such an early hour, now would we?" she hummed.

"N-No, of course not." Delbert smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck as his entire face turned beet red. Just the idea of anyone on this ship thinking that he… that they…

"You may go." she chuckled, running a hand through her hair as she stood as well and walked over to the shelf on her wall that held her collection of star charts.

Delbert nodded once, then spun on his heel and made a beeline for the door. It took all the strength in his body to keep from speed walking all the way back to his cabin, where he could safely examine the thoughts running rampant through his mind.

While it was true that he had gotten significantly more comfortable in her presence over the past several hours, she was still the very intimidating, and beautiful, captain. It hadn't escaped him for a moment how captivating she was, especially now that they were… well, more than just acquaintances. Her wit was sharp as a sword and admirable when not directed at him. Her smile shone brighter than any nebula or star, especially when it was genuine. And her eyes… They were the deepest pools of emerald green.

And he… he was just an astrophysicist. A book learned, socially awkward, astrophysicist. How opposite they were.

Pulling himself back to reality, he nearly sighed in relief when he finally reached the door and placed his hand on it. He had just turned to pull the door open when he heard her voice behind him.

"Oh, and Doctor?"

He physically winced, mentally cursing the way his voice caught in his throat as he failed to respond. He shouldn't still be this nervous around her. She had cried herself to sleep in his arms for goodness sake! Perhaps it was the fact that she had reverted to calling him 'Doctor' that had him so uncomfortable. They had been utilizing each other's first names all morning, it was strange to hear her use his title now. Perhaps he had done something wrong, maybe she was calling him to correct some error he had committed. He ran over the last few hours in his mind, and couldn't recall any egregious error… But it had been a rather quick few hours. Knowing him, it could've been a Freudian slip of the tongue that had offended her. If that was the case, he couldn't blame her for being upset. His more intimate thoughts did have a tendency to use his slips of the tongue as escape routes, much to his disdain.

"Yes...?" he asked hesitantly, turning around to face her once more.

Delbert was pleasantly surprised when he only found amusement in her eyes, not disdain or anger.

"If you'd like to join me for breakfast this morning, on the off chance that you have no other plans," she spoke quickly to stop herself from second guessing her decision. "...You would be welcome to do so."

Delbert chuckled a bit, tugging at his suddenly very tight collar. Either he was delusional from the lack of sleep… or she had actually invited him back to her stateroom for breakfast. He stared at her for a few moments, trying to gauge whether she was toying with him or not. He searched her face, but found nothing more than a raised eyebrow.

"I… I'd be honored to join you."

The pleased smile that spread over her lips sent chills all down his spine.

"Splendid."

XXXXXX

As Delbert made a rather frantic exit, Amelia bit her bottom lip to keep from chuckling at the way his shoulder caught the doorframe on his way out. When she was finally alone with her thoughts, she let out a soft sigh and got out of her desk chair as she mulled over the events of the past day or so.

Delbert had gone above and beyond the call of duty. No one had asked him to care for her, endure her chaotic grieving process, or clean her stateroom… yet he did all that, and had even remained until morning. Amelia didn't know his motivation behind it all, but couldn't truthfully say that she minded. He was kind and gentle, and rather humorous at times. He vaguely reminded her of Arrow.

Arrow.

Her best friend should be here. He should be telling her what to do about the way she was feeling. He should be sitting across from her, laughing good-naturedly at the confusion she was sure was written all over her features. He would know exactly what to say to her. He would know exactly how to quell her fears.

She stood in front of her destroyed windows, closed her eyes and furrowed her brow as a gentle Etherium breeze blew over her face. She sighed softly and tried to imagine it was Arrow letting her know he was still with her.

_When she opened her eyes, she found him standing in front of her amidst a billion stars, a familiar warm glow in his eyes._

_"Amelia." _

_His voice sounded hollow, like an echo from miles away. The air around her was littered with the glittery shimmer that only appeared in her dreams, and she realized that this was indeed that. A dream. A dream where nothing between them was different. _

_"Nice of you to join me." She said with a smile._

"_I decided it would be best I check up on you. I know how lost you are without your First Mate." he chuckled. "How are things?"_

_"Not as ship shape as they once were. But not unmanageable."_

_"My apologies for no longer being there to assist you, Captain."_

_There was a beat of silence, where all they did was stare at each other. Everything felt familiar between them. The camaraderie, the banter, the teasing… it was all still there. But he wasn't. Not physically. She supposed she should have been crying, should have felt the grief washing over her… something... But she felt nothing of the sort. Perhaps she had exhausted herself._

_"Arrow, what happened to you?" She finally asked, that question being the one that had needled her relentlessly since his death._

_"I'm afraid I don't remember my last moments." _

_"Ah. Well isn't that the most satisfying news." She deadpanned. "All the grieving I did and what do I receive in return? No solution as to what happened and who is to blame."_

_"Amelia, why must you assume anyone is at fault?" Arrow chuckled, his eyebrow raised. "I could have just fallen from the rigging."_

_"Are you saying that was what happened? Because if so… You must've been more of a clumsy oaf than I remember."_

_"Perhaps." He mused. "I suppose we'll never know."_

_"I suppose not." She took a breath, the smile on her face finally fading. "I miss you, Arrow."_

_"I miss you as well, Amelia. It was not easy leaving you, and I truly wish we had more time together, if only just to see this voyage to its conclusion. The afterlife is not nearly as exciting as life on the Legacy."_

_"Don't even mention this godforsaken voyage." Amelia huffed. "It's a ludicrous bloody mess."_

_"Be that as it may…" he laughed. "There is something I will admit to being curious about."_

_"And what is that?"_

_"The fact that you're still here."_

_"Indeed I am. Nothing to be curious about there."_

_"I know how you can be, Amelia." He stated tensely. "I know what you've gone through with the loss of your family. We can't pretend as if we don't both know what you wanted to-"_

_"I did what I had to do and I grieved you." She interrupted. "I still am grieving you. I suppose I always will. I had no one left to lean on when you were taken, and without you there…"_

_"Amelia..."_

"_I was so tired, Arrow… so tired of losing everything and everyone I ever loved. I didn't want to go on anymore. I… have no one and nothing to go back to."_

_"...and yet you're still here."_

_"In a way."_

_They stood in silence for what felt like an eternity, Amelia's gaze dropping to the floor below her feet. Tears were welling in her eyes, and she couldn't bring herself to wipe them away. _

_"Amelia."_

_He had spent his life at her side, encouraging her, supporting her, caring for her... loving her… when no one else could. He was her confidant, her first mate, and her best friend. Nothing could have torn them apart except death. It was fitting that that was exactly what had happened._

"_Arrow I won't beg you not to leave me." She said finally, raising her eyes to his._

"_You've never been one to beg. You are so strong, Amelia. Continue to be so."_

_"I will. And I will continue to miss you, Arrow. Truly."_

_"And I you."_

_Arrow smiled, and Amelia's tears flowed freely down her cheeks. Again she made no attempt to stop them as she sighed and made to turn her back on him. She felt herself beginning to wake from her daydream, but before she reached full consciousness, she heard Arrow speak again._

_"Oh and Amelia? Give Doctor Doppler my many thanks. I can see I have left you in very capable hands."_

XXXXXX

Jim continued the game of chase he had going with Morph, laughing as the shape-shifter finally ducked below deck into the kitchen. Jim hopped up from the metal grate he had been peering into, turning to run down the stairs and snatch up the little troublemaker.

Out of everyone on this ship, Morph had to be one of his favorite creatures. And after the night he'd had with his mistake and Mr. Arrow's subsequent death, Jim definitely welcomed the consistent distraction that was playful little Morph.

"Whoa!"

Both Jim and Delbert fell to the floor, Delbert's glasses hitting the deck next to Jim's hand. Jim blinked, sitting up and smiling apologetically.

"Sorry about that, Doc." He said, helping Delbert to his feet and handing him his glasses. "Didn't think anyone would be up and moving this early."

Delbert chuckled nervously, taking the glasses and wiping them clean with his sleeve.

"It's alright, Jim. I'm just… er…"

Delbert blinked, putting his glasses on and rubbing the back of his neck nervously. While it was perfectly normal for Delbert to be heading to the Captain's stateroom around mid-morning, it was less than normal for him to be leaving from there moments before anyone woke up.

Jim honestly wasn't too concerned with whatever the Doc was up to. He was more focused on shooting down to the galley to find Morph and get payback for this morning's antics. The Doc's business was his own.

"Getting a feel for the ship…?" Jim offered, chuckling at how uncomfortable Delbert looked. He grinned when all Delbert could do was nod.

"Yes, getting a feel for the um… the ship." He chuckled uneasily, then noticed that Jim was missing a shoe. "And uh… what are you up to, Jim?"

Jim blinked, following the Doc's gaze down to his foot. He laughed awkwardly, pulling his boot from behind his back and waving it a little.

"Just playing with Morph before I do my chores."

"Ah." Delbert said, shifting his feet as he approached the subject he felt he should have brought up last night. "And um… Jim… I want you to know that… w-what happened with Mr. Arrow… it… it wasn't your fault. It was a mistake that anyone could have made...and-"

"Listen, Doc. I appreciate the...concern. I do. But… I'm fine." He shrugged. "Really."

"Oh. Well, good… good. I suppose I will... leave you to it then."

"See ya later Doc." he smiled, patting Delbert's shoulder as he jogged past him and down into the galley.

XXXXXX

Delbert did his very best to avoid keeping the Captain waiting. But even though he originally had the mind to speed things along, once he stepped into the steady stream of hot water in his cabin's shower, he found himself unable to move any quicker. The comforting warmth of the water mixed with the flood of thoughts in his head had put him into a sort of daze.

Mr. Arrow was dead. That was it. He would no longer be giving orders or doing routine checks of the ship. He was an upstanding man and a great spacer, unafraid and strong. His death was a great loss, that was for sure.

Jim was doing… better. Delbert hadn't spoken to him immediately after the incident, too focused on making sure their Captain didn't need any assistance. Not that he regretted his actions, he had plenty of evidence supporting his decision to leave Jim to himself for a while. Teenage boys like Jim tended to need alone time before talking out their feelings, and although Delbert felt badly that he had not been there when Jim finally let it all out, he was glad to see the outcome of it.

Captain Amelia was something else. Intelligent, quick-witted, brave… Why she chose him to pursue a friendship with he would never understand, but he felt honored to have this opportunity. While it was true that he had already seen some hidden sides of her, the vulnerable side and the conversational side, he wanted to see more… so much more.

But as excited as he was to be getting to know her better, he felt a twinge of guilt needling at him regarding the circumstances. The only reason he was even being afforded this opportunity was because of Mr. Arrow's death. If Mr. Arrow hadn't died, the Captain wouldn't have needed his assistance. He wouldn't have ended up putting her to bed, cleaning her stateroom, or making her tea. This realization gave him pause. Was he doing the right thing? And what exactly was he doing in the first place? Was this a friendship, or slowly blossoming into something more?

Climbing out of the shower and wrapping his towel around him, he realized that he was better off reminding himself that this was a friendship… and that was enough. Regardless of how he felt in his heart, he would only go as far as she would allow. And at this moment, they were becoming friends. He supposed he had to be content with that.

With that being said, Delbert knew he had feelings for her. He wasn't sure what they were exactly or what to do about them… but he did know that he would have to literally bite his tongue to keep from Freudian slipping his way right out of her good books.

XXXXXX

The hesitant knocking on her door shook Amelia from her daydreaming. She opened her eyes slowly, the slight stiffness of her cheeks letting her know that she had indeed cried a bit. She sighed, feeling the storm within her finally settle into a sort of calm. She felt a sense of peace, as if the hole in her heart had been temporarily patched up and was on its way to recovery.

She walked back to her desk, using her hand to wipe away the remnants of her tears from her face as she took the star charts that had been on her desk and returned them to the shelf.

"Enter." She called to whoever had knocked, forcing her voice to come out strong despite the fact that she hadn't used it in the last 45 minutes. She ran a hand through her hair, narrowing her eyes a bit when Mr. Hawkins walked in carrying her breakfast on a tray.

"Good morning, Captain." He said as he avoided her eyes, his gaze going everywhere but her face.

"Good morning, James." She replied stiffly, watching him set the tray down as she returned to her desk. "I trust Mr. Silver received my request?"

Jim nodded, glancing up at her face once before taking the lid off of the tray.

"Yes, Ma'am. Enough food and dishes for two."

"Very good. You may go."

Jim nodded and left, walking as fast as he could without running. While he was a little curious as to who the Captain would be having breakfast with, he knew he was on such thin ice with her that he was better off not even thinking about it.

On his way back down to the galley, he noticed that the rest of the crew had already gotten up and were headed that same direction. The only one headed a different way was…

"Doc?"

Delbert obviously hadn't heard him, because he just kept on awkwardly shuffling right on past him. Jim raised an eyebrow at his weird (but not out of character) behavior, then smiled to himself as he realized exactly who Captain Amelia would be sharing her breakfast with.

"Hm."

XXXXXX

The first few minutes of their shared meal was awkward to say the least. Bits and pieces of small talk, mostly stunted on Delbert's part, which obviously bothered Amelia. In his attempt to keep his more complex feelings towards her hidden, he had changed his behavior to the way it was when they had first met.

Awkward and uncomfortable.

The tension in the room was dense, suffocating the life out of what was supposed to be a pleasant interaction between the two of them. That is, until Amelia grew sick of it.

"You know, Doctor, if you didn't wish to join me this morning, you could have declined."

Delbert's gaze shot to her face, his stomach knotting about a billion times.

"N-No, that… that's not it. I mean I…"

"Because I am not blind, and I can see the discomfort written all over your face and in your body language."

"I..uh…"

"Not everything I say or offer is a direct order." Her voice was tight, similar to the way it had sounded when they had first met.

Not good.

Delbert took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down for once. This was ridiculous, all he had been trying to do was not offend her or be too friendly, and had alienated her in the process. That was not his intention at all.

"Amelia… I… I meant what I said when I accepted your invitation. I was… am!... honored." He smiled sheepishly. "I'll admit that I'm just a bit... nervous."

Amelia took what he said and mentally examined it, surprisingly tickled at his confession.

"While I am used to others being intimidated by me, it comes with the title of Captain, I am a bit perplexed as to why you are still intimidated… considering what… ahem… occurred last night."

Delbert's hand twitched beneath her line of sight. So she _was _acknowledging that something was different between them now. That meant he could as well.

"Yes, well… I have to be honest with you. I've never… done anything like that before, and I wasn't sure how you were feeling about it. I was… trying not to offend you. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I tend to have a few Freudian slips from time to time."

"So I've heard." She hummed. "But in all honesty, Delbert, I have to admit that I am very grateful for what you did for me. My apologies if that did not come across."

Delbert watched her for a moment, mentally forcing each of his muscles to unclench. He could relax a bit now, his uncertainties were out in the air and she wasn't upset by them. And she appreciated his sacrifice.

"I'm not the most observant man, I'm sure you'll find." He chuckled. "But… I am glad I was able to help."

Amelia gave him a smile as well, then reached forward to pour herself a cup of tea. She hissed angrily when one of the healing scars on her gloved palm sent a shooting pain through her arm, and she was forced to let go of the kettle. She retracted her arm, not realizing that the kettle would fall to the desk and splash scalding hot tea all over both of them… which never happened.

Delbert's hand flew forward with a speed he never knew he possessed. He caught the kettle handle right before it hit the desk, causing only a single drop of tea to escape. He let out a short sigh, chuckling nervously when he looked up from the kettle to find Amelia staring at him.

Impressed was perhaps not even enough to describe how she was feeling right then. She watched him lower the kettle to the tray, as she gently rubbed the scar that had caused the problem beneath her glove. Delbert smiled sheepishly as he shook his slightly burned hand to cool it.

"U-Um..." he said quietly, unsure of what to even say after that. He didn't know what entity had suddenly gifted him with that sort of finesse, but he definitely wasn't complaining.

"You know, perhaps you aren't quite the bumbling doctor you present yourself to be."

Delbert's eyes met hers again, and he just grinned, accepting the compliment hidden in that statement. He offered to pour her tea for her instead, relieved when she accepted.

_"Very capable hands indeed."_ she mused.

XXXXXX

Somehow in his hurried attempt to not keep her waiting, Delbert had forgotten that he had yet to get any sleep in the last 24 hours. He had spent last night caring for Amelia, and hadn't even left her stateroom until almost two hours ago. Unfortunately, his fatigue had chosen the absolute worst time to make itself known, when his meal was half finished and he was listening to Amelia finish detailing a story from her famous battle with the Procyons. He shook himself, trying to think of another topic to talk about that might help keep him awake. Not that her recollection of war was not intriguing.

"So… if you don't mind me asking…" he started, running a hand over his face quickly in an attempt to wake himself up. "After what happened to Mr. Arrow… um… what… what happens now? Navy-wise?"

Amelia stiffened a bit, but relaxed again after only a moment. She ran a single clawed finger around the rim of her teacup as she spoke, her eyes not meeting his.

"The Navy has protocol for these situations. I'm sure I will have a new First Mate only weeks after we return to Crescentia. That is… if I finish the ludicrous amount of paperwork involved." She scoffed. "In my opinion, all they should need is a sheet that states that he's deceased."

Delbert nodded in agreement, polishing off his second cup of tea. He admired her ability to speak of Mr. Arrow's demise so freely. After seeing the state she was in before, the contrast was almost startling. She had gone from a grieving, distraught Amelia who had collapsed in a sobbing heap… to the calm, collected Amelia seated comfortably across from him that had been sipping tea and telling stories about her former First Mate for the past hour.

"Well I'm assuming they'll assign someone with as much experience as Arrow."

"Not necessarily." She replied, crossing her legs and spinning in her chair to face the wall off to her left.

"Oh?" Delbert raised an eyebrow, waiting a moment before spinning in his own chair to face the wall, resting his chin on his hand.

"Sometimes the Navy tries to fasttrack promising upstarts. I could end up with someone fresh out of the Academy." She said rather bitterly, her gaze lazily drifting over the map on her wall.

"Well that hardly seems fair to them or you. Assigning someone who has hardly any spacing experience to work alongside someone with lots of spacing experience… it seems frustrating."

"I'm glad to see that someone gets it." She chuckled, glancing at him before returning her gaze to the wall. "Perhaps the Navy should employ you instead of the neophytes currently in charge."

They sat in companionable silence for a while, Amelia's gaze flickering between the shelves on her walls and the ceiling above her. The Etherium breeze behind her ghosted over her face occasionally, ruffling the strands of her hair that had gone rogue and were floating about her head.

She truly was a sight to behold. That fact hadn't changed one bit in the weeks they'd spent on this ship. In fact, his opinion of her had only grown more and more positive, and he could only smile and soak up this rare moment. In fact, he was so caught up in the moment that he hadn't realized that the arm that had been holding his head up as he stared at her had started to slip due to his fatigue. Before he could even really catch himself, his arm gave out and he ended up landing face first... in his plate of half finished breakfast.

Amelia physically jumped at the sound of his head hitting the plate, and blinked in shocked surprise when he sat up a millisecond later, half of his face covered in an amalgamation of food.

"Oh well this is just… lovely." he muttered irritably. "I swear, I am only aboard this ship to attract all the bad luck."

There was silence for a moment, and Delbert contemplated simply getting to his feet and making a hasty and embarrassed exit. But his plans were completely derailed when he heard a strange sound coming from the Felid across from him. It almost sounded like… laughter? He scraped some of the food from his eye, his cheeks burning like a fire when he realized that she was indeed laughing.

"Delbert Doppler, you really are too much at times." She grinned, one hand on her stomach.

Her laugh was warm and melodious. He would readily admit that he had been wondering what making her laugh might feel like, and found that in reality it was even more wonderful than he ever thought it would be.

"I suppose _someone_ has to be the comic relief aboard the Legacy." He smiled as he attempted to scrape more food from his face, the embarrassment he felt within him slowly dissipating.

"Hold on a moment." She smiled, standing from her chair and moving to a door he'd never noticed before. She returned a moment later, handing him a small face towel. He thanked her, using it to wipe as much off as he could.

When he was finished, he smiled sheepishly when he saw her perched on the edge of her desk with her arms crossed, amusement twinkling brightly in her eyes.

"I believe you've missed a spot, Delbert." She chuckled.

He blinked, trying to discern where this spot might be and finding nothing. She rolled her eyes, sliding off of her desk and taking the towel from him.

"Here."

Delbert simply sat there in silence as she gingerly wiped the substance from the area right above his eyebrow, her brow knitted slightly as she focused. One hand was on his shoulder to keep him still, and he tried his best not to tense that shoulder. He couldn't help but find her absolutely adorable in this particular moment, her tongue peeking out from one corner of her lips.

When she finished, rather than moving away, her eyes met his. She had never noticed how warm they were. They were a milk chocolate brown that seemed to see right through her facade, and strangely, she wasn't bothered by it.

"There. Finished." She said rather quietly.

"...Are we?" It's said without thinking, his voice unintentionally low and husky.

There was a hint of confidence there, and for a moment all she could do was stare at him. That single phrase, more of a question than anything, had conjured up a feeling within her that she couldn't explain with words. She couldn't describe the emotions running through her, or explain why her face felt instantly hot. Not that she truly cared to.

Every bit of her common sense was demanding that she back away before something awful happened. Although, she wasn't sure what awful outcome there could be when it came to this particular situation… as foreign as it was. What was so wrong with letting herself _feel_ again? What was wrong with allowing herself to care for another the way she had Arrow… or even more so? There was a tiny voice in the back of her mind that was whispering to her that perhaps this was a good thing… and she was more inclined than ever to listen.

Delbert couldn't explain where his loaded question had come from. He didn't know what it meant or where he was trying to go with it, it had just felt right to say. And he couldn't take it back. Not that he would want to… he felt a rush of something strong and confident within him, and he readily welcomed it. And apparently she was feeling the same rush of endorphins, judging by the soft pink tint that had settled in her cheeks that he was sure matched the color on his own. His eyes searched her dazzling emerald ones, wondering what was to happen next but too afraid of what the answer might be. A strange part of him that he had never noticed seemed to spring to life, urging him to take her face in his hands and do exactly what he had been wanting to do. But the part of him with actual common sense reminded him that she may not be okay with that. He didn't want to alienate her again by screwing up so royally so soon. But it was obvious that something was happening here. Something had changed between them, and they couldn't pretend as if things were the same they had always been.

"Amelia, I-"

"Captain!"

Her stateroom door flew open with an urgency that startled them both. So much so that their heads nearly collided when Amelia shot up into a standing position, retrieved a laser pistol from a compartment on the desk behind her, and used Delbert and the chair he was in as her cover.

She had done it with such speed that even Delbert hadn't realized what was going on until she was literally straddling him, the arm holding the blaster over his shoulder aiming at whoever had bombarded her stateroom. Her other hand was still on his shoulder, inadvertently preventing Delbert from spinning in his chair to see what was happening. So he settled for craning his neck to try and see. He had to admit that the intrusion was a bit of a welcome distraction, it gave him a reason to avoid looking at what was in front of him… which at that moment was Amelia's torso.

"Sorry! Sorry! I… I didn't mean to intrude or anything!" Jim's face turned a deep red as he realized what he had apparently walked in on. Last time he checked, breakfast didn't involve that much physical contact. Maybe he just hadn't had breakfast with a girl recently enough. He put his hands up in surrender, his gaze locked on the ceiling as Amelia let out a huff and removed herself from Delbert's lap. This was too weird, whatever it was.

Amelia stood, tucking the blaster in her hand into the waistband of her belt.

"Honestly, Mr. Hawkins you should know better than anyone not to-"

"I know, I know and I'm sorry. But there's a reason I broke protocol! Silver and the rest of the crew are all pirates!"

Amelia raised an eyebrow at the boy, then looked over at Delbert who had finally managed to pull himself together enough to stand. Delbert, his cheeks still warm and red, just chuckled awkwardly and turned to the frightened looking boy in front of them.

"What's going on, Jim? Why do you think they're pirates?"

"They're mutinying right now!" He exclaimed, turning to the Captain who had already made a swift beeline for her locked cabinet to retrieve the map and a few spare blasters. "We have to get out of here or they'll kill us all."

"Pirates on my ship? I'll see they all hang." She muttered angrily, tossing a laser pistol in Delbert's direction. "Doctor, familiar with these?"

He barely caught it, and got a bit too cocky when he managed to hold onto it, twirling it about in his hand.

"Oh, well I've seen… well I've _read_-"

The globe she'd been given as a gift never even stood a chance.

"Uh… no, no I'm not." Delbert smiled apologetically, and all Amelia could do was roll her eyes. She could scold him about that later, if there _was_ a later.

"Mr. Hawkins, defend this with your life." She commanded, tossing the spherical map in Jim's direction. The little shapeshifter, Morph, snatched it from the air at the last second and Amelia made to take it back.

Jim noticed and beat her to it, snatching the map from Morph and shoving it into his pocket.

"Gimme that!"

Amelia glared at the boy, handing him his own pistol.

"Do not let that happen again, Mr. Hawkins. When I said defend it, I meant defend it."

Jim simply nodded, swallowing thickly.

"Yes, Ma'am."

The sound of cracking metal from the door behind them caught all of their attention. Amelia took a breath, aiming her laser gun at the floorboards and blasting a hole into them. Delbert and Jim stared at her, confused and startled.

"If you want to make it out of this alive, I strongly suggest you follow me." She huffed, jumping down into the hole.

XXXXXX

Amelia kept her breathing even and controlled as she landed in the longboat in the depths of the Legacy. She reloaded her gun, ignoring the sense of panic that had risen up inside her. While she was no stranger to battle, she'd never had to battle alongside those with absolutely no experience. Fortunately, it seemed that Delbert was doing better than expected beside her. Mr. Hawkins was peering over the edge of the longboat, his own pistol being lost in the scuffle. Amelia hardly noticed his absence until she spotted him sprinting away from them, chasing after what looked like Morph carrying their map. That meant they had to buy him time… which wouldn't be easy. The door to the longboat bay exploded, allowing a sea of weaponized pirates to flood in to try and block their escape.

Delbert did his best to fire at the pirates alongside Amelia, too afraid to stand up the way she was. He stayed in his crouched position, taking a break from firing when something caught his eye up above. He wasn't sure what it was, but by calculating the angle it might fall at, it was worth a shot. He stuck his arm out, aimed, and fired off a single shot towards the fixture.

Amelia's eyes followed the shot, prepared to turn and remind him that the pirates were not firing at them from the ceiling… when she realized exactly what he had done. The pirates that had been closing in on them realized that the floor beneath them had just disappeared, and went tumbling down out of the ship and towards Treasure Planet below.

Treasure Planet. They had arrived? Amelia frowned for a moment. Had she really been that distracted in her stateroom that she never realized they had reached their destination? Interesting.

"Did you actually aim for that?" She asked Delbert after a moment, both surprised and thoroughly impressed.

"You know actually I _did!" _Delbert said incredulously, staring at the pistol in his hand in awe.

Shots rang out again, and Amelia pushed Delbert back down into the longboat where the shots couldn't hit them. She crouched down next to him, smiling when he shot her a proud grin.

"I honestly can't believe that worked."

"Neither can I." She smirked, reloading her gun before returning to the firefight.

Just as she got back into firing position, she noticed that the light from the planet below them had started to move. She looked down and realized, with a wave of frustration, that the hatch was closing. She looked back towards the control lever, and saw Mr. Silver grinning darkly right back at her. He was the one closing off their escape. If that hatch shut completely, they would be trapped.

"Ah, blast it!" She growled, looking up to try and find a solution to their growing problem… and she found it. The cables keeping the longboat tethered to the Legacy were right above them. If they shot them both at the right time, the longboat would be released and be able to fall through the opening in the hatch below before it closed on them. It would take precision timing, but she was sure she and Delbert could manage it.

Hopefully.

"Doctor, when I say 'now', shoot out the forward cable. I'll take this one." She said quickly, checking both of their guns. Delbert blinked at her for a moment, saw the cable she was talking about, and nodded affirmatively.

Amelia had to admit, the look of determination on his face was endearing. But now was not the time for that.

"Mr. Hawkins needs to hurry along if he's coming with us." She muttered. "We can't wait much longer."

"Just… give him another minute. He'll be here." Delbert said assuredly.

"I'm not sure we have a minute to spare."

It was only ten seconds, but felt like 10 years before they saw Jim again. He was bolting towards the longboat, map in hand. Amelia looked over at Delbert, who nodded and aimed at the cable.

"Now!" She commanded, bracing herself when the longboat immediately dropped.

As soon as they were out of the Legacy, Amelia set about powering up the longboat. Delbert yanked Jim into the boat, and the two of them watched in fear as Amelia called out what she was doing before they went soaring away from her ship.

"Parameters met, hydraulics engaged…"

"I got the map back, Doc." Jim said breathlessly. "But Silver almost… he almost…"

Delbert put his hand on the boy's shoulder, only imagining what he might be feeling. If what Delbert had read about pirates was true, he knew exactly what Mr. Silver had almost done to the poor boy. He opened his mouth to console him, but shut it when he saw something out of his peripheral. Something big.

"Is that…?" Jim asked, turning around when he saw the fear in Delbert's eyes. "Uh…"

"Captain! Laser ball at twelve o'clock!" He cried, ducking down into the longboat. Jim followed suit, hoping the laser ball would somehow miss them. The last thing he wanted to experience was falling from the sky in a flaming longboat.

Amelia's eyes widened as she turned to see the laser ball heading right towards them, doing her best to try and strafe out of its path. But they had been alerted just a second too late. The laser ball hit the back of the longboat where Amelia, sending shrapnel flying, some of which hit Amelia's ribs so hard that she actually cried out in pain and clutched her side. She swallowed past the agonizing throbbing, doing her best to try and direct the now wildly out of control longboat into a safe part of the jungle below. But the longboat wouldn't cooperate.

Delbert and Jim cried out in fear as the boat lurched and bumped from side to side, both of them holding on for dear life. The fire behind them had gone out for the most part, but the pollen, foliage, and debris from the plants in front of them made it nearly impossible to see where they were going or what they would be crashing into.

Jim held the map tightly in his pocket, and squeezed his eyes shut, one hand clutching the boards beneath him to ensure he wouldn't be bumped out when they finally hit the ground. Right at that moment, the longboat hit a particularly stiff plant, flipping and spinning before it skidded upside down to a halt on the foliage covered ground below.

Amelia was thrown forward, her side flaring up with so much pain that she had hardly even registered that they had even stopped. She landed next to Delbert, the three of them silent for a solid ten seconds as they tried to assess whether or not they were dead.

"Ugh…" Jim groaned out finally, pushing the longboat upright and off of them. He looked over at Delbert, who was patting the ground around him to try and find his glasses that had been knocked from his nose.

"Oh my goodness. That was more fun than I ever want to have again." Delbert sighed, putting his glasses and getting to his feet. Nothing on him seemed broken, and he only felt a few aches and pains in his muscles. Nothing too serious, thankfully.

"That was not one of my… gossamer landings." Amelia chuckled as she stood and started to brush herself off, only to gasp and fall to her knees when a blinding wave of sharp pain hit her with the intensity of a hundred laser shots. Her vision swam, her head spun, and her stomach convulsed as if she were mere seconds from vomiting.

"Captain!" Delbert cried, kneeling down beside her, concern written all over his face. He groaned inwardly when he realized how staggered and shaky her breathing was. Lovely, she was injured, and only she knew how extensively.

This was the _last_ thing they needed right now.

"Oh, don't fuss." She managed to groan out as she swallowed past the nausea, using Delbert's knee as a crutch to stand. He let her go when she was standing again, only to immediately grab ahold of her arm and waist when she faltered on her feet for a moment. The lightheadedness and the pain that lanced through her when she breathed was definitely going to be a problem. But she couldn't reveal that she was that badly injured to her companions. Not yet. She had to be the strong one in this crisis, as she always was. She felt Delbert's hands on her arm and waist, and recognized the familiar fluttering in the pit of her stomach. Flashbacks of how he'd cared for her in her stateroom worked their way into her mind, and she shook her head to clear them.

Now was _not _the time for that.

"Slight bruising, that's all. Cup of tea and I'll be right as rain." She said quickly, pulling away from Delbert and straightening herself. "Mr. Hawkins?"

Delbert raised an eyebrow at her when she addressed him as Jim, and made a mental note to somehow examine what exactly had happened to her. She was obviously seriously injured, but her need to be the strong leader in any situation would not let her admit it. He figured it was because of Jim's presence. Delbert liked to think that Amelia trusted him enough to care for her injuries, but with the boy around, she felt it was best to maintain her facade for as long as she could. But if the way she was behaving was any indication, she wouldn't be able to keep up her facade for much longer.

Amelia realized her mistake after a second, blinking and turning to the boy on the other side of her.

"The map, if you please."

Jim blinked, reaching frantically into his pocket and pulling out the map with a sigh of relief. He had done exactly as he was told for once. After the most intense and terrifying event of his life so far, he had managed to hold onto the one thing Captain Amelia had ordered him to.

So he was understandably angry at Morph when he realized that the sphere he had grabbed was actually the shapeshifter playing a trick on him. In his childlike ignorance, Morph thought they had been playing a game with Silver in the longboat bay, and decided to mask himself as the map.

"Morph?!" Jim cried, growing more and more frustrated at the way Morph laughed at his reaction. "Morph, where's the map?!"

Amelia's vision was still a bit cloudy, so all she was able to do was listen to the boy shouting at the shapeshifting nuisance. She was able to discern was that, somehow, Mr. Hawkins had mistakenly left the actual map on the Legacy… the ship they had just risked their lives to escape. As upsetting as that was, a rumbling familiar sound above them caused Amelia's ears to flick towards the sky behind them and she realized they had much bigger problems to deal with at the moment.

"Stifle that blob and get low…" she said tightly, crouching down behind the wreckage of the longboat. Jim and Delbert followed, crouching down on either side of her. "We've got company."

Amelia squinted as she peered over the edge of the longboat, her eyes finally able to focus on the second longboat to launch from the Legacy flying overhead, full of pirates. She sighed, realizing that they could only hide here for so long. Eventually, the smoke from the wreckage would snake past the giant plants overhead, and they would be spotted and killed. Someone needed to find a better place for them to hide, and as frustrating as it was, she knew she couldn't be the one to do it.

"We need a more defensible position." she muttered.

It was between Delbert and Mr. Hawkins to scout out a place, and when she really thought about who she would rather be stuck with while injured, the answer was obvious.

"Mr. Hawkins," she held her pistol out to him as she leaned on her own gun for support, her eyes narrowed. She hoped he understood the gravity of what they needed him to do. She was placing all three of their lives in his hands… again. If he failed a second time, he wouldn't get the chance to fail again. "Scout ahead."

Jim hesitated, but took the pistol without a second thought. He knew exactly what the Captain was thinking, and he nodded once in affirmation that he would not screw up this time. She and Doc could count on him.

"Aye, Captain."

Delbert watched the exchange from his position next to Amelia, giving Jim a nod of his own as the boy shot him a weak smile and headed out into the jungle with Morph at his side. He watched him go, silently praying that it would not be the last time they saw him. There was no telling what was inhabiting the planet, and Jim didn't have nearly enough experience with a laser pistol to guarantee that he would be able to fight off whatever found him.

They would just have to trust him.

_**A/N: This took WAY too long to write, omg. But I really hope it's okay, I know there are some weaker parts in this one but I started a work study job recently so my free time has been cut down quite a bit. I also got writer's block for a little while there, so I had to watch the movie again and do a little bit of thinking. I hope everyone isn't too OOC, I got excited with the more romantic parts XD review please! I'm trying to get chapter 11 out as quick as possible.**_


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